2004 in the United Kingdom
See also:
2003 in the United Kingdom ,
other events of 2004,
2005 in the United Kingdom and the
list of 'years in the United Kingdom' .
Events
January
- January 1 - Papers released under the Thirty Year Rule reveal that, contrary to what was believed at the time, Princess Margaret would not have lost her title nor Civil List payments had she married Group Captain Peter Townsend, a divorced War hero, in the 1950s.
- January 3 - The BBC cancels the appearance of Coca Cola sponsorship credits in the music charts in its BBC ONE Top of the Pops show, after criticism from politicians and health campaigners that it would be promoting junk food and unhealthy drink products to teenagers.
- January 6 - The coroner's inquest into the death of Diana, Princess of Wales and her lover Dodi Al-Fayed is officially opened.
- January 6 - The Daily Mirror publishes the blacked out portion of a letter wherein Diana, Princess of Wales alleged that someone was trying to kill her.
- January 8 - The Queen Mary 2 is christened by Queen Elizabeth II.
- January 13 - Robin Cook says that the British Museum's Parthenon Marbles must be returned to Greece.
- January 13 - Serial killer Dr. Harold Shipman is found dead in his cell.
- January 13 - The Bichard Inquiry into events preceding the Soham murders formally opens.
- January 14 - A 45-year old Sudanese man travelling from Washington Dulles International Airport to aiport Dubai is arrested en route at London's Heathrow Airport on suspicion of carrying 5 bullets in his coat pocket.
- January 19 - The English Court of Appeal calls for an end to the prosecution of parents whose babies may have died of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (cot death) in cases where the only evidence is contended expert testimony.
- January 27 - British Prime Minister Tony Blair narrowly defeats a rebellion in his own party over the Higher Education Bill - a highly controversial bill to reform higher education funding, including the introduction of increased and variable tuition fees - in the House of Commons by 316 votes to 311.
- January 28 - The Hutton Inquiry into the circumstances of the death of Dr. David Kelly is published. This is taken by most of the press to strongly condemn the BBC's handling of the David Kelly affair and to exonerate the government; the BBC's Director-General, Greg Dyke, chairman of the Board of Governors, Gavyn Davies, and the journalist at the centre of the controversy, Andrew Gilligan, resign. The UK media in general condemns the report as a whitewash.
February
- February 3 - Foreign Secretary Jack Straw announces an independent inquiry, to be chaired by Lord Butler, to examine the reliability of intelligence on weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.
- February 5/February 6 - A party of Chinese cockle pickers is caught by the tides at night in Morecambe Bay, Lancashire, drowning 23 people. 21 bodies are recovered.
- February 6 - The Home Office confirms that Maxine Carr, convicted with Ian Huntley concerning the Soham murders of 2001, could be released from prison in the next few days.
- February 11 - Richard Desmond, the owner of the Daily Express and Daily Star tabloids, confirms that he has made a bid for the troubled Daily Telegraph.
- February 15 - The government are reported to have drawn up plans to break up the BBC in the wake of the Hutton inquiry.
- February 19 - Foreign Secretary Jack Straw announces that five of the nine Britons held without trial as terror suspects at the Guantanamo Bay prison camp in Cuba, along with a Dane, are to be released.
- February 21 - Prime Minister Tony Blair comes under pressure from British human rights groups and MPs because of the government's sweeping powers under the Anti-Terrorism Crime and Security Act, which have allowed the detention of 14 foreign terrorist suspects in the UK at what has been described as 'Britain's Guantanamo Bay'.
- February 24 - The British Olympic Association bans European 100 meter champion Dwain Chambers from competing in the Olympic Games for life for a positive test for the designer steroid THG.
- February 25 - Katharine Gun, formerly an employee of British spy agency GCHQ, has a charge of breaching the Official Secrets Act dropped after prosecutors offered no evidence, apparently on the advice of the Attorney-General. Gun had admitted leaking American plans to bug UN delegates to a newspaper.
- February 26 - Clare Short, former British Cabinet Minister, alleges on the BBC Today radio programme that British spies regularly intercept UN communications, including those of Kofi Annan, its Secretary-General.
April
May
June
July
November
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