2000 in the United Kingdom

Incumbents

Monarch - Elizabeth II

Prime Minister – Tony Blair (Labour)

January

Japanese carmaker Nissan adds a third model to its factory near Sunderland; the new version of the Almera hatchback and slaoon, which goes on sale in March.

1 January – Millennium celebrations take place throughout the UK. The Millennium Dome is officially opened by the Queen.

3 January – Thames Valley Police speak of their belief that the Cézanne painting stolen from Oxford's Ashmolean Museum on New Year's Eve was taken by professional thieves.

4 January – Catherine Hartley and Fiona Thornewill become the first British women to reach the South Pole.

10 January - The Prime Minister's wife, Cherie Blair, is fined for not having a valid train ticket with her during her journey from Blackfriars to Luton station. She claimed only to have Portuguese currency with her at the time and couldn't find a machine where she could use her credit card.

11 January – A Scottish trawler, the Solway Harvester, sinks in the Irish Sea, killing seven sailors.

12 January - It is announced that former Chilean dictator, Augusto Pinochet, is to be sent home after the Home Secretary, Jack Straw, accepted "unequivocal and unanimous" medical evidence that Pinochet is unfit to stand trial in Spain on charges of torture.

22 January – The Rugby league 2000 World Club Challenge is won by Melbourne Storm who defeat St Helens 44 – 6 at the JJB Stadium.

31 January – Dr. Harold Shipman is sentenced to life imprisonment after being found guilty of murdering 15 patients in Greater Manchester between 1995 and 1998. He is also sentenced to four years in prison, to run concurrently, for forging the will of one of his victims.

February

Waterhouse report into the Wales child abuse scandal published.

11 February

The Royal Bank of Scotland succeeds in the hostile takeover battle for its larger English rival, NatWest Bank, successfully defeating a rival offer by the Bank of Scotland.

Northern Ireland Assembly is suspended

28 February – The chief of British Nuclear Fuels resigns over a safety scandal at Sellafield.

March

2 March – The UK returns Augusto Pinochet to Chile to face trial.

14 March – All stores of furniture retailer World of Leather and its parent Uno plc close.

15 March – BMW announces plans to sell the Rover Group, with London-based Alchemy consortium emerging as favourites for a takeover.

25 March – David Trimble wins the leadership election of the Ulster Unionist Party.

31 March – Myra Hindley, who has spent 34 years in prison for her part in the Moors Murders, loses a third High Court appeal against a Home Office ruling that her life sentence should mean life.

April

April – The Ministry of Defence publishes a booklet Soldiering – The Military Covenant which introduces the term into public discourse referring to the mutual obligations between the nation and its armed forces.

1 April

An Enigma machine is stolen from Bletchley Park Museum.

Section 27 of the Access to Justice Act 1999 comes into force allowing recovery of fees from the losing party in civil actions, extending the availability of conditional fee arrangements.

3 April – The Immigration and Asylum Act means that all asylum seekers in England and Wales will now receive vouchers to cover the cost of food and clothes.

4 April – Charlie Kray, one of the infamous Kray brothers, dies in hospital of the Isle of Wight after suffering a heart attack in Parkhurst Prison. He was 73 years old.[2]

12 April – The Royal Ulster Constabulary is presented with the George Cross by The Queen.

14 April – Kenneth Noye, the so-called "M25 killer", sentenced to life imprisonment.

19 April – Tony Martin is sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of a 16-year-old burglar he shot dead at his Norfolk farmhouse eight months ago. He is also convicted of the attempted murder of Brendon Fearon, the burglar who was wounded when Martin opened fire and killed Fred Barras.

29 April – At Murrayfield Stadium, the 2000 Challenge Cup rugby league tournament culminates in the Bradford Bulls' 24 – 18 win in the final against the Leeds Rhinos.

May

1 May – May Day riot in central London by anti-capitalist protestors. The statue of Winston Churchill in Parliament Square, and the Cenotaph in Whitehall are daubed with graffiti.

3 May – The London Stock Exchange and Germany's Deutsche Börse announce merger plans.

4 May – London mayoral election: Ken Livingstone elected Mayor of London defeating Steve Norris, the Conservative Party candidate in second place; and Frank Dobson, the Labour Party candidate in third place.

9 May – BMW sells the bulk of the Rover Group (the Rover and MG marques) to the Phoenix Consortium, while it retains the rights to the Mini marque, and sells Land Rover to Ford.

12 May

The Tate Modern art museum is opened to the public.

Ford announces that production of cars at its Dagenham plant will discontinue when the Fiesta is replaced in 2002.

17 May – Royal Marines Alan Chambers and Charlie Paton become the first British people to reach the Geographic North Pole unaided.

20 May – Chelsea beat Aston Villa 1–0 to win the last FA Cup final at Wembley Stadium before the old stadium (which is due to close in October) is rebuilt.

24 May – National Botanic Garden of Wales opens to the public in Carmarthenshire.

25 May – National Waste Strategy first published.

June

June – Celtic Manor Wales Open European Tour golf tournament first played.

7 June – Tony Blair receives a hostile reception during a speech at the Women's Institute, where he is heckled and slow hand-clapped by furious members.

10 June – The much-anticipated Millennium Bridge opens to the public, but has to close after it starts swaying.

12 June – 20 June The England national football team participates at Euro 2000, jointly hosted by the Netherlands and Belgium. Despite beating Germany, England are eliminated in the group stage after 2 defeats.

21 June – Repeal in Scotland of controversial Section 28 of the Local Government Act 1988 which prevented local authorities from "promoting homosexuality". Section 28 is not repealed in the rest of the UK until 2003.

30 June – David Copeland is found guilty of causing the three nail bomb attacks in London last year. He is sentenced to life imprisonment and the trial judge recommends that he should serve at least 30 years before being considered for parole, meaning that he is likely to remain in prison until at least 2029 and the age of 54.

July

July – Vauxhall launches the all-new Agila city car.

5 July – Colin Fallows, driving the Vampire turbojet-propelled dragster, sets a British land speed record, a mean 300.3 mph (483.3 km/h), at Elvington, Yorkshire.

14 July – Reality television game show Big Brother first airs in Britain.

18 July – Alex Salmond resigns as the leader of the Scottish National Party.

20 July – Production of the Ford Escort, one of Britain's most successful and iconic motoring nameplates, finishes after 32 years.

23 July – The News of the World starts a campaign for Sarah's Law, in honour of murdered Surrey girl Sarah Payne, who was found dead in West Sussex on 17 July having gone missing 16 days earlier.

28 July – Last 80 prisoners leave the Maze Prison in Northern Ireland as part of the Northern Ireland peace process.

August

4 August – Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother celebrates her 100th birthday.

26 August – Gangster and murderer Reggie Kray, in the 32nd year of his life sentence at Broadmoor Hospital, is released from prison on compassionate grounds by Home Secretary Jack Straw due to bladder cancer from which he is expected to die within weeks.

September

September – Ford unveils its all-new second generation Mondeo large family car, which is due on sale towards the end of this year.

8 September – UK fuel protests: Protesters block the entrances to oil refineries in protest against high fuel prices. Panic buying by motorists leads to nationwide petrol shortages, with between 75–90% of all UK petrol stations closing due to low supplies in the following week.

14 September – After beginning the year 20 points behind the Labour government in the opinion polls, the Conservative opposition's hopes of winning the next election (due to be held within 18 months) are boosted when they come two points ahead of Labour on 38% in a MORI opinion poll. [3]

15 September – 1 October – Great Britain competes at the Olympics in Sydney and wins 11 gold, 10 silver and 7 bronze medals.

18 September – Survivors of the Southall and Ladbroke Grove rail disasters criticise Railtrack for putting costs ahead of safety and causing a series of blunders which led to the tragedies.

23 September

Earthquake in Warwickshire.

Rower Steve Redgrave wins his fifth consecutive gold medal at the Olympics.

October

October – Ford launches the all-new Mondeo with a range of saloons, hatchbacks and estates.

1 October – Reggie Kray dies of cancer in a Norwich hotel at the age of 66.[4]

4 October – After 41 years, production of the Mini car ends at the Longbridge plant owned by MG Rover in Birmingham. The new model will go into production next spring at the Cowley plant in Oxford that is owned by BMW.[5]

7 October – Wembley Stadium closes after 77 years. It is set to re-open in 2003 following a complete reconstruction that will see its capacity raised to 90,000 all-seated. In the final game at the old stadium, the England football team loses 1–0 to Germany in their opening qualifying game for the 2002 World Cup and manager Kevin Keegan resigns after 18 months in charge.

16 October – The BBC's main evening news show moves to 10:00 pm; the following year ITV1 will move its news back to the same time slot and broadcasts in direct competition.

17 October – Hatfield rail crash: A Great North Eastern Railway InterCity 225 train derails south of Hatfield station, killing 4 people.

23 October – After the fuel protests were solved, Labour support has been restored, according to the latest MORI opinion poll which shows them 13 points ahead of the Conservatives with 45% of the vote.[6]

26–27 October – Following the death of Donald Dewar, Henry McLeish is selected to be First Minister of Scotland by the Scottish Parliament, and is officially appointed by The Queen.

26 October – House of Lords delivers judgement in White v White, a landmark case in redistribution of finances and property on divorce.

30 October – Sven-Göran Eriksson, the 52-year-old Swedish coach of Italian side Lazio, accepts an offer from the Football Association to take charge of the England team for five years commencing next July. Eriksson will be the first foreign manager to take charge of the England team, but until his arrival the England team will be jointly managed by interim coaches Peter Taylor and Howard Wilkinson.

November

7 November – The theft of £350 million worth of diamonds from the Millennium Dome is foiled by police.

16 November – Actor Michael Caine receives a knighthood from the Queen.

18 November – Marriage of American actor Michael Douglas and Welsh actress Catherine Zeta-Jones.

20 November – Judith Keppel becomes the first person to win £1 million on the television programme Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?

21 November – Dennis Canavan MSP resigns as MP for Falkirk West, triggering a by-election.

23 November – Double by-election held in Glasgow Anniesland to elect successors to Donald Dewar's seats in both the UK Parliament and the Scottish Parliament. Labour holds both seats with swings to the SNP of 6% and 7%.

26 November – Rio Ferdinand, the 22-year-old England national football team defender, becomes the nation's most expensive player in an £18million transfer from West Ham United to Leeds United.[7]

27 November – Damilola Taylor, a 10-year-old school boy originally from Nigeria, is stabbed to death on his way home from school in Peckham, London.

December

2 December – Two teenagers and a 39-year-old man are released on police bail after being arrested in connection with the Damilola Taylor killing.

3 December – The Church of England introduces the Common Worship series of service books.

8 December – The Equitable Life Assurance Society closes to new business.

21 December – Falkirk West by-election results in Eric Joyce retaining the seat for Labour, though with a majority reduced to just 705 votes in the face of a swing of 16.2% to the SNP.

22 December – American pop star Madonna, 42, marries 32-year-old British film producer Guy Ritchie at Skibo Castle in the Scottish Highlands.

29 December – Arctic weather conditions blight Britain, with heavy snow and temperatures as low as −13C plaguing the country and causing extensive gridlocking on the roads and railways.

31 December – The Millennium Dome closes as planned after one year.

Undated

2000 is the wettest year on record in the UK.

Sales of the DVD format, first launched in the UK in June 1998, pass the 1 million mark, although the VHS format remains by far the most popular format of home video.

Publications

Iain M. Banks' novel Look to Windward.

Lauren Child's children's book I Will Not Ever Never Eat a Tomato, first in the Charlie and Lola series.

Matthew Kneale's novel English Passengers.

Nigella Lawson's guide How to be a domestic goddess: baking and the art of comfort cooking.

Terry Pratchett's Discworld novel The Truth.

Philip Pullman's novel The Amber Spyglass, third and final book in the His Dark Materials series.

J. K. Rowling's novel Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

Zadie Smith's novel White Teeth.

Births

20 May – Leo Blair, son of Prime Minister Tony Blair and his wife, Cherie Blair, the first legitimate child born to a serving Prime Minister since Francis Russell on 11 July 1849.

29 June - Kia Pegg, actor

August – Danni Bennatar, actress

20 November – Connie Talbot, singer

Full date unknown

Sophia Kiely, actress

Deaths

2 January – Patrick O'Brian, writer (born 1914)

9 January – Nigel Tranter, historian and author (born 1909)

30 January – Martin Aldridge, footballer (born 1974)

23 February – Sir Stanley Matthews, former footballer (born 1915)

24 February – Michael Colvin, politician (born 1932)

25 February – Victoria Climbie, victim of high-profile child murder, neglect and torture (born 1991 in Côte d'Ivoire)

10 March – Ivan Hirst, former British army officer and engineer, best known for his part in the revival of German carmaker Volkswagen after World War II (born 1914)

28 March – Anthony Powell, novelist (born 1905)

8 April – Bernie Grant, politician (born 1944 in Guyana)

14 April – Wilf Mannion, former footballer (born 1918)

27 April – Clifford Forsythe, politician (born 1929)

28 April – Penelope Fitzgerald, poet, essayist and biographer (born 1916)

17 May – Donald Coggan, Archbishop of Canterbury (born 1909)

21 May

Dame Barbara Cartland, novelist (born 1901)

Sir John Gielgud, actor (born 1904)

17 June – Brian Statham, former cricketer (born 1930)

5 July – Lord Woodbine (Harold Adolphus Philips), calypsonian (born 1929 in Trinidad)

11 July – Robert Runcie, former Archbishop of Canterbury (born 1921)

5 August – Sir Alec Guinness, actor and writer (born 1914)

6 August – Robin Day, political broadcaster (born 1923)

2 September – Audrey Wise, politician (born 1935)

17 September – Paula Yates, television presenter (born 1959)

19 September – Anthony Robert Klitz, artist (born 1917)

25 September – R. S. Thomas, poet (born 1913)

1 October – Reggie Kray, convicted gangster and murderer (born 1933); had recently been released from prison on compassionate grounds after serving more than 30 years of a life sentence

9 October – Patrick Anthony Porteous, recipient of the Victoria Cross (born 1918)

11 October – Donald Dewar, First Minister of Scotland (born 1937)

22 October – Fred Pratt Green, Methodist minister and hymn writer (born 1903)

11 November – Hugh Paddick, actor (born 1915)

27 November – Malcolm Bradbury, author and academic (born 1932)

28 November – Len Shackleton, former footballer and writer (born 1922)

4 December – Colin Cowdrey, former cricketer (born 1932)

18 December – Kirsty MacColl, singer-songwriter (born 1959); died in Mexico