2005 in England

Incumbents

Events

January

February

  • 2 February
    • Two firefighters and a member of the public die in a fire on the 14th and 15th floors of a 17-storey tower block in Stevenage, Hertfordshire. Seven other people are hospitalised, one in serious condition, and 70 people are evacuated from the block.
  • 7 February – Englishwoman Ellen MacArthur sets a record for the quickest round-the-world solo sail. She completed the 27,354-mile (44,022 km) journey in 71 days, 14 hours, 18 minutes and 33 seconds, breaking the old record of 72 days, 22 hours, 54 minutes and 22 seconds, set by Francis Joyon in 2004, which itself took 20 days off the previous record.[1]
  • 10 February – Clarence House announces that The Prince of Wales is to marry Camilla Parker Bowles on Friday 8 April in a civil ceremony at Windsor Castle. She has been styled HRH The Duchess of Cornwall since, and it was announced that, when Charles becomes king, she may become HRH The Princess Consort.[2]
  • 14 February
    • Hare coursing: As the final Waterloo Cup event in England starts in Altcar, four anti-coursing protesters are arrested. The event is expected to attract up to 10,000 spectators over its 3 days.[3]
    • London's mayor Ken Livingstone is censured by the London Assembly for comparing a Jewish journalist for the Evening Standard to a concentration camp guard. Livingstone refuses to withdraw his comments.
  • 17 February – The BNFL nuclear plant at Sellafield, in the United Kingdom, reports that 30 kg (66 lb) of plutonium is "unaccounted for". This amount of missing plutonium would be sufficient to make seven atomic bombs. The UK Atomic Energy Authority states that the discrepancy in the record keeping is merely an auditing issue, and that there was no "real loss" of plutonium.
  • 18 February – The Hunting Act, the ban on hunting with dogs in England and Wales, comes into force. Its opponents intend to challenge the law and hunt.[4]

March

April

May

  • 9 May – The Sellafield nuclear plant's Thorp reprocessing facility in Cumbria, is closed down due to the confirmation of a 20 tonne leak of highly radioactive uranium and plutonium fuel through a fractured pipe.
  • 12 May – Malcolm Glazer gains control of Manchester United after securing a 70% share, ending more than 30 years of ownership by the Edwards family.
  • 21 May – Arsenal become the first team to win the FA Cup on penalties after they defeat Manchester United in a shoot-out that follows a goalless draw.
  • 27 May – Mark Hobson is sentenced to life imprisonment at Leeds Crown Court after admitting four charges of murder. On a killing spree in July last year, 35-year-old Hobson killed his girlfriend Claire Sanderson, Claire's sister Diane Sanderson, as well as pensioners James and Joan Britton. The trial judge recommends that Hobson is never released from prison.

June

July

  • 6 July – London is chosen as the host city for the 2012 Olympic Games, beating Paris in the final round of votes 54 to 50.
  • 7 July – A series of co-ordinated terrorist bombings strike London's public transport system during the morning rush hour. Three bombs exploded within 50 seconds of each other on three London Underground trains. A fourth bomb exploded on a bus at an hour later in Tavistock Square. More than 50 people are killed and hundreds more are injured.
  • 14 July – A two-minute silence is held across Europe at 12:00 BST to remember the victims of the London bombings.
  • 21 July – Four attempted bomb attacks in London disrupt part of the capital's public transport. Small explosions occur around midday at Shepherd's Bush, Warren Street and Oval stations on London Underground, and on a bus in Bethnal Green. However, there are no injuries.
  • 22 July
  • 28 July – Birmingham tornado.
  • 29 July – Two of the suspects of the July 21 attempted bombings in London are arrested in north Kensington, the fourth is arrested in Rome.

August

  • 11 August – British Airways grounds all flights as baggage handlers, loaders and bus drivers strike in support of 800 workers sacked by flight catering company Gate Gourmet. The strike is also affecting other airlines, causing chaos at London Heathrow Airport
  • 21 August – Victory over Japan Day: A service is held at London's Cenotaph to mark the sixtieth anniversary of the end of World War II. The Prince of Wales is in attendance, as are survivors of the Far East campaign.

September

  • 12 September – England cricket team wins The Ashes.[7]
  • 29 September – The High Court decides that Ian Huntley, serving life imprisonment for the double child murders at Soham three years ago, should serve at least 40 years in prison before being considered for parole. This ruling is set to keep Huntley behind bars until at least 2042 and the age of 68.

October

  • 18 October – The landmark Spinnaker Tower in Portsmouth[8] opens. At 170 metres (560 ft) it is the tallest accessible structure in the UK outside London.
  • 22–23 October – Birmingham race riots.[9]

November

  • 24 November – Pubs in England and Wales permitted to open for 24 hours for the first time.[10]
  • 30 November – Quadruple killer Mark Hobson loses a High Court appeal against his trial judge's recommendation that he should never be released from prison.

December

See also

References

  1. "MacArthur sails into record books". BBC News. 2005-02-07. Archived from the original on 13 February 2008. Retrieved 2008-02-13.
  2. "Charles and Camilla to be married". BBC News. 2005-02-10. Archived from the original on 15 February 2008. Retrieved 2008-02-13.
  3. "Arrests as coursing event starts". BBC News. 2005-02-14. Retrieved 2008-01-27.
  4. "Ban on hunting comes into force". BBC News. 2005-02-18. Archived from the original on 7 March 2008. Retrieved 2008-02-13.
  5. "Prince Charles marries Camilla". BBC News. 2005-04-09. Archived from the original on 21 January 2008. Retrieved 2008-02-13.
  6. "St Edmundsbury Marks End Of An Era". Skyscrapernews.com. 2005-07-23. Retrieved 2010-08-21.
  7. "England win the Ashes". BBC News. 2005-09-12. Archived from the original on 2 February 2008. Retrieved 2008-02-13.
  8. Skyscraper News
  9. Casciani, Dominic (2005-10-25). "Fear and rumours grip Birmingham". BBC News. Retrieved 2010-09-06.
  10. "Pubs open 24 hours". BBC News. 2005-11-24. Archived from the original on 7 March 2008. Retrieved 2008-02-13.
  11. "David Cameron is new Tory leader". BBC News. 2005-12-06. Archived from the original on 7 March 2008. Retrieved 2008-02-13.
  12. "The Nobel Prize in Literature 2005". Retrieved 2008-02-13.
  13. "Massive fire at Buncefield oil depot". BBC News. 2005-12-11. Archived from the original on 7 March 2008. Retrieved 2008-02-13.
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