2008 in the United Kingdom

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2008 in the United Kingdom

Other years

2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010

Individual countries of the United Kingdom

England | Northern Ireland | Scotland | Wales

Sport, Television and music

2008 British Grand Prix

2008 English cricket season

Football: England | Scotland | Wales

2008 in British television

2008 in British music

UK in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008

Events from the year 2008 in the United Kingdom.

[edit] Designation

2008 National Year of Reading is a year-long celebration of reading, in all its forms.

[edit] Incumbents

• Monarch - HM Queen Elizabeth II
• Prime Minister - Gordon Brown, Labour Party

[edit] Events

[edit] January

• 4 January - An unforecast blizzard creates havoc across eastern Northern Ireland, with falls of 8 inches in one hour.
• 7 January - RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 and MS Queen Victoria leave Southampton for last and first world cruises respectively.
• 9 January - Israeli diamond magnate Lev Leviev buys a new-build house in Hampstead, London for a record £35 million.
• 12 January - The city of Liverpool officially becomes European Capital of Culture for 2008, a title it will share with Stavanger, Norway.
• 17 January - Number of people affected by norovirus stomach bug in the UK reaches an estimated 3 million.
• 24 January - Peter Hain resigns as Secretary of State for Work and Pensions over irregular donations.^[1]
• 31 January
  • Conservative Party MP Derek Conway suspended from the House of Commons for 10 days over payments made to his son from his parliamentary allowances.^[2]
  • Four men are jailed for 15 years each for their part in the 2006 Securitas raid, the UK's biggest cash robbery.^[3]

[edit] February

• 6 February - The England National Football team defeat Switzerland 2–in Fabio Capello's first game as manager at Wembley Stadium in London.
• 19 February - Shanon Matthews, 9 years old, from Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, goes missing.
• 21 February - A jury at Ipswich Crown Court finds Steve Wright, 49, guilty of murdering five prostitutes in a spree during late 2006.^[4]
• 22 February
  • Nationalisation of Northern Rock by the British government.^[3]
  • Steve Wright is sentenced to life imprisonment with a recommendation that he should never be released.^[5]
  • Mark Dixie, 37, is found guilty of the September 2005 murder of Surrey model Sally Anne Bowman (18). He is sentenced to life imprisonment at the Old Bailey, where the trial judge recommends that he serves at least 34 years before parole can be considered.^[6]
• 26 February - Levi Bellfield, 38, is found guilty of murdering two women in London in sexually-motivated attacks; the first in 2001, the second in 2004. He receives a life sentence with a recommendation that he should never be released.
• 27 February - An earthquake with an epicentre in Lincolnshire is felt across most of Britain, with several buildings suffering substantial damage.

[edit] March

• 12 March - The Budget is unveiled by Alistair Darling as his first in the position of Chancellor of the Exchequer.
• 14 March - Michael Donovan, 39, from Bartley Carr, West Yorkshire, is arrested for the kidnap of the 9 year old, Shanon Matthews.
• 28 March - London Heathrow Terminal 5 opens at Heathrow Airport to British Airways with lots of problems with the IT system, coupled with insufficient testing and staff training, which caused over 500 flights to be cancelled.^[7]
• 30 March - A plane crashes into a row of houses in Farnborough, London, killing two pilots and three passengers.^[8]

[edit] April

• 2 April - A cross human-cow embryo survives a third straight day after being fertilized at Newcastle University. A director for embryonic stem cell laboratories at the Australian Stem Cell Centre said that the "99 per cent human" embryo could improve research within the field of human diseases. The Catholic Church of England and Wales however said that the creation was "monstrous" and says that the later destruction of it is unethical. ^[9]
• 6 April - The Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 came into force.^[10]
• 8 April - Karen Matthews, the mother of the kidnapped 9 year old girl, Shanon Matthews, is arrested for organizing her daughter's kidnap.

[edit] May

• 1 May
  • The London mayoral election was held. Conservative candidate Boris Johnson defeats the incumbent Labour candidate Ken Livingstone.^[11]
  • Elections to the London Assembly are also held, with Brent and Harrow being the only constituency to change hands. Meanwhile, the British National Party gain a seat, their first outside of local councils.
  • Local elections are held in England and Wales. The night saw the governing Labour party fall to third place in the popular vote on 24%, behind the Conservatives on 44% and the Liberal Democrats on 25%.
• 11 May - Manchester United secure their tenth Premier League title in 16 years with a 2-0 win at Wigan Athletic on the final day of the league season. Ryan Giggs, who scored one of United's goals, becomes the first player to win 10 English league titles.^[12]
• 17 May - The FA Cup Final takes place at Wembley Stadium between Portsmouth and Cardiff City with Portsmouth winning 1-0.
• 20 May - Joey Barton, a football player for Newcastle United, is sentenced to six months in prison after being convicted of assault and affray.^[13]
• 21 May - The first all-English European Cup final sees Manchester United beat Chelsea on penalties after a 1-1 draw in Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium.^[14]

[edit] July

• 22 July - The London Motor Show is held, highlighted by Vauxhall's launch of its new Insignia that replaces the Vectra and is due on sale later this year.^[15]

[edit] August

• 1 August - Barry George acquitted of the murder of Jill Dando.^[3]
• 8 August – 24 August - Great Britain compete at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. The team wins 19 gold, 13 silver and 15 bronze medals finishing 4th in the medal table. It is the best performance for the Great Britain team in a century.^[16]

[edit] September

• 6 September – 17 September - Great Britain compete at the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing.

[edit] October

• 6 October - Footballer Luke McCormick, a former goalkeeper for Plymouth Argyle, is sentenced to seven years in prison for causing death by dangerous driving.^[17]
• 8 October - The government announces a bank rescue package worth totalling some £500 billion as a response to the ongoing financial crisis.
• 18 October - An episode of The Russell Brand Show airs, featuring a series of prank phone calls to the actor Andrew Sachs by comedians Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross, leading to a media row.^[18]

[edit] November

• 5 November - Lewis Hamilton becomes the youngest ever Formula One World Champion.^[19]
• 6 November - Labour party wins the Glenrothes by-election.^[20]

[edit] December

• 4 December - Karen Matthews, 32, is convicted of the kidnapping her 9 year old daughter, Shanon, who was kidnapped in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, on 19th February, 2008.
• 16 December - Sean Mercer, 18, is found guilty of murdering 11-year-old Rhys Jones who was shot dead in Croxteth, Liverpool, in August last year. Mercer is sentenced to life imprisonment at the trial judge recommends that he serves at least 22 years before parole can be considered. This is likely to keep Mercer in prison until at least 2030 and the age of 40.^[21]
• 18 December
  • Woolworths announce their 807 stores will close by 5 January 2009.^[22]
  • Robert Napper pleads guilty to killing Rachel Nickell, who was stabbed to death on Wimbledon Common on 15 July 1992.^[23]
• 19 December - MFI ceases trading, closing all 111 of its stores and leaving its 1,400 workforce redundant.^[24]

[edit] Publications

• Iain M. Banks' novel Matter.

[edit] Deaths

• 2 January - George MacDonald Fraser, author (born 1925)
• 3 January - Jimmy Stewart, racing driver (born 1931)
• 9 January - John Harvey-Jones, businessman (born 1924)
• 19 January - Morris Maddocks, bishop (born 1928)
• 30 January - Jeremy Beadle, television presenter, writer and producer (born 1948)
• 28 February - Mike Smith, singer (born 1943)
• 8 March - Carol Barnes, newsreader (born 1944)
• 18 March - Anthony Minghella, film director (born 1954)
• 19 March - Arthur C. Clarke, science fiction author and inventor (born 1917)
• 19 March - Paul Scofield, actor (born 1922)
• 20 March - Brian Wilde, actor (born 1927)
• 23 March - Neil Aspinall, record producer and business executive (born 1941)
• 1 April - Jim Finney, football referee (born 1924)
• 7 April - Mark Speight, television presenter (born 1965)
• 25 April - Humphrey Lyttelton, jazz musician and broadcaster (born 1921)
• 16 May - David Mitton, producer and director (born 1939)
• 24 May - Rob Knox, actor (born 1989)
• 28 May - Beryl Cook, artist (born 1926)
• 2 July - Elizabeth Spriggs, actress (born 1929)
• 3 July - Clive Hornby, actor (born 1944)
• 4 July - Charles Wheeler, journalist (born 1923)
• 14 July - Hugh Lloyd, actor (born 1923)
• 11 August - Bill Cotton, producer (born 1928)
• 29 August - Geoffrey Perkins, comedy producer, writer and performer (born 1953)
• 31 August - Ken Campbell, actor and raconteur (born 1941)
• 15 September - Richard Wright, muician (born 1943)
• 3 November - Brooks Mileson, businessman, (born 1947)
• 4 November - Syd Lucas, World War I survivor (born 1900)
• 12 November - Mitch Mitchell, drummer (born 1947)
• 16 November - Reg Varney, actor (born 1916)
• 8 December - Oliver Postgate, animator, puppeteer and writer (born 1925)
• 14 December - Kathy Staff, actress (born 1928)
• 24 December - Harold Pinter, playwright (born 1930)

[edit] References