4 January – Mark Cahill, a 51-year-old former pub landlord from
West Yorkshire becomes the first person in the UK to receive a
hand transplant.[2]
10 January –
April Casburn, a senior detective with the
Metropolitan Police is found guilty of trying to sell information on the investigation into
phone hacking to the News of the World, the newspaper at the centre of the scandal.[3] On 1 February she is jailed for fifteen months.[4]
22 January – a death sentence handed to British citizen
Lindsay Sandiford by an Indonesian court for drug smuggling is condemned by the UK government.[8]
30 January – Tony McCluskie is found guilty of the March 2012 murder of his sister, the actress
Gemma McCluskie and
jailed for life with a recommendation he serve a minimum term of 20 years.[10]
28 February – the
Eastleigh by-election, triggered by the resignation of
Chris Huhne, sees the Liberal Democrats hold the seat despite a UKIP surge that pushes the Conservatives into third place.[17]
Psychiatric patient
Nicola Edgington, who stabbed a woman to death six years after killing her mother is
jailed for life with a minimum of 37 years.[20]
11 March –
Chris Huhne and
Vicky Pryce are each jailed for eight months for perverting the course of justice.[26]
14 March
Prime Minister
David Cameron says talks between himself and the leaders of the UK's other main political parties on the recommendations of the
Leveson report have broken down and that he intends to publish a
Royal Charter on press regulation.[27]
Labour Party peer
Lord Ahmed is suspended from the party after claiming a conspiracy by
Jewish-owned media organisations was responsible for his imprisonment for dangerous driving.[28]
18 March – the final
BBC news bulletins are transmitted from
Television Centre, after 43 years of occupying the building, as the corporation moves its entire news operation to
Broadcasting House in central London.[31]
A teenage girl is found dead by police at a house in the
Atherton area of
Greater Manchester where four "out of control" dogs are subsequently put down. Police said her injuries are consistent with those of a dog attack.[35] She is named the following day as 14-year-old Jade Anderson.[36]
April
1 April –
Police Scotland begins operations, merging all the former forces in the country.
8 April – former British Prime Minister
Margaret Thatcherdies in London following a stroke.[38][39] Street parties are held in a number of cities across the UK to "celebrate".[40][41]
9 April – six days after being appointed as Britain's first Youth Police and Crime Commissioner, Paris Brown steps down from the role after controversy over postings she made on Twitter.[42]
10 April – "
Ding-Dong! The Witch Is Dead" charts at number 10 in the Official Midweek Charts as opponents of former Prime Minister
Margaret Thatcher have been buying copies of the song following her death two days earlier.[43]
23 April – businessman James McCormick is convicted on three counts of fraud at the
Old Bailey after selling
fake bomb detectors based on a device for finding golf balls to countries including Iraq and Georgia.[46]
May
2 May
James McCormick is jailed for ten years at the
Old Bailey.[47]
8 May – Sir
Alex Ferguson, the most successful manager in English football during his 27 years as manager of Manchester United, announces his retirement after the end of the Premier League season later in the month.[50]
9 May –
David Moyes, who has managed
Everton for 11 years during which they have qualified for European competitions on five occasions, is announced as the successor to Sir Alex Ferguson.[51]
13 May – Stuart Hazell, 38, admits the
murder of Tia Sharp, 12-year-old granddaughter of his partner Christine Sharp, who was found dead in
New Addington, London, nine months ago. His murder trial began six days ago but he has previously denied the charge against him.
14 May
The
Conservative Party publishes a draft European Union (Referendum) Bill aimed at holding a referendum on Britain's membership of the
European Union by 2017. Prime Minister
David Cameron had previously said a referendum would be held if he could renegotiate the terms of Britain's EU membership, but Tory MPs have been unhappy that legislation for a referendum was not included in the recent
Queen's Speech.[52]
Stuart Hazell is sentenced to life imprisonment at the
Old Bailey with a recommended minimum term of 38 years.
Three days after winning the FA Cup, Wigan Athletic are relegated from the Premier League after a 4–1 defeat to
Arsenal, making history as the first team to win the FA Cup and get relegated in the same season.[citation needed]
15 May
In the
House of Commons, an amendment to the
Queen's Speech expressing regret that it did not contain legislation for a referendum on Britain's EU membership is defeated 277–131.[53]
MPs debate government proposals to tighten the
law governing dangerous dogs following the death of Jade Anderson in March. The legislation would give police greater powers to deal with attacks on private property.[54]
16 May – UKIP leader
Nigel Farage is heckled by angry protesters during a campaign visit to
Edinburgh.[55]
22 May –
murder of Lee Rigby in
Woolwich: off-duty British soldier Fusilier Lee Rigby, a former drummer serving with
2nd Battalion the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, is killed in the street. Two men carrying knives and a meat cleaver are subsequently apprehended by police. The government treats the killing as a terrorist incident.[57] The victim's identity is confirmed the following day.[58]
24 May – a 24-year-old zoo worker is seriously injured after being attacked by a
Sumatran tiger at
South Lakes Wild Animal Park in Cumbria.[59] Sarah McClay subsequently dies in hospital as a result of her injuries. Police launch an investigation into the attack.[60]
25 May – 48 people are rescued from a boat which begins taking on water after colliding with a rock off the coast of
Pembrokeshire.[61]
30 May – a court in
Mold,
Wales, finds Mark Bridger guilty of abducting and murdering five-year-old
April Jones in October 2012. The trial judge recommends that 47-year-old Bridger should never be released from prison. The body of April Jones has not been found.[62]
2 June – two
British Labour Party peers are suspended by their party after allegations they offered to undertake Parliamentary work in exchange for payment. A third peer, from the
Ulster Unionist Party resigns the
whip following the allegations.[64]
20 June – Four Conservative MPs
Christopher Chope,
Peter Bone,
Philip Hollobone camped outside Parliament in a move to facilitate parliamentary debate on an 'Alternative Queen's Speech' – an attempt to show what a future Conservative government might deliver.[69] 42 policies were listed including
reintroduction of the
death penalty and
conscription, the privatisation of the
BBC, banning the
burka in public places, holding a referendum on same-sex marriage and preparing to leave the
European Union.[69]
Ed Miliband says he will end the automatic "affiliation" fee paid by three million union members to the
Labour Party after the
Unite union was accused of secretly signing up its members to get its favoured candidate elected in the
Falkirk constituency.[74]
A man who posted threats to kill 200 people on social networking site Facebook leading to school closures in the US state of
Tennessee is jailed for 28 months at
Newcastle Crown Court.[75]
The option of imposing a
whole life tariff for the worst murders in
England and Wales is ruled illegal by the
European Court of Human Rights following a legal challenge by three convicted murderers serving such sentences. They are
Jeremy Bamber, Douglas Vinter and
Peter Moore, who are among a group of at least 49 prisoners in England and Wales serving such sentences. The sentence is not an option in
Scotland.[76]
12 July – the funeral of murdered fusilier
Lee Rigby takes place in
Bury; attendees include Prime Minister
David Cameron.[78]
13 July – two soldiers die during a training exercise on the
Brecon Beacons on one of the hottest days of the year. The
Ministry of Defence works with
Dyfed-Powys Police to investigate.[79] On 30 July a third soldier dies in hospital.[80]
15 July – the House of Lords approves the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill, enabling gay marriages to take place in England and Wales from 2014.[81]
16 July –
Health SecretaryJeremy Hunt announces that eleven hospitals will be placed in special measures because of major failings.[82]
17 July
Rising temperatures led to heat health warnings being issued for Southern England and the Midlands in the UK's first prolonged heatwave since
2006.[83]
Prime Minister
David Cameron announces plans for every household in the UK to have
pornography automatically blocked by their internet provider unless they choose otherwise. The possession of online material depicting rape will also become illegal in England and Wales, bringing them into line with current Scottish legislation.[85]
The UK records its hottest day since July 2006, with 33.5C (92.3F) recorded at Heathrow and Northolt in west London.[86]
Home Office
"Go Home" vans begin to tour areas of London with high immigrant populations.[87]
23 July – overnight thunderstorms bring the three-week heat wave to an end.[90]
27 July – six people are taken to hospital after a
double-decker bus has its roof ripped off by a bridge in
Stockport, Greater Manchester.[91]
31 July – administrators recommend the dissolution of
Mid Staffordshire NHS Trust after it went into administration in April.[92]
August
1 August – temperatures of 33.7C are recorded at
Heathrow Airport and 34.1 in London – the hottest since 2006 – as the hot weather makes a brief return. The
Met Office says it is the hottest day since 2003 and the warmest summer since 2006.[93]
2 August – Magdelena Luczak and her partner, Mariusz Krezolek, are jailed for life with a minimum of 30 years for the murder of Luczak's four-year-old son
Daniel Pelka, who was beaten, and starved to death.[94]
3 August –
Tony Wang, head of
Twitter, apologises after women received bombing and rape threats by users of the site. The apology comes as the company updates its rules to help clamp down on threats and harassment.[95]
5 August – the world's first
lab-grown
burger – produced from bovine
stem cells – is cooked and eaten at a news conference in London.[96]
6 August – it is reported that sewage workers from
Thames Water have removed a fifteen ton bus-sized "
fatberg" – thought to be Britain's largest – from a sewer beneath London, after the mass caused a 95% blockage and threatened to send raw sewage spurting from
manhole covers.[97]
7 August –
Bank of England governor
Mark Carney says the Bank will not consider raising interest rates until the unemployment rate has fallen to 7% or below.[98]
10 August – 56 police officers are injured in Belfast after a night of loyalist rioting.[99]
11 August – two women who are UK nationals have been arrested on suspicion of smuggling drugs from
Peru, the country's police confirm.[100]
19 August
Senior politicians urge police to explain why the partner of a Guardian journalist who published leaked documents from US whistleblower
Edward Snowden was detained at
Heathrow Airport for nine hours.[101]
Green MP
Caroline Lucas and her son are among protesters arrested at a site in West Sussex where energy firm
Cuadrilla is drilling for oil.[102]
Chief executive of the UK Independence Party, Will Gilpin steps down from his post.[103]
20 August – Britons Michaella McCollum and Melissa Reid are formally charged with attempting to smuggle £1.5m worth of cocaine out of Peru.[104][105] They are remanded in custody the following day.[106]
21 August – an inspection report reveals that a female inmate at
HMP Bronzefield was kept in solitary confinement for more than five years.[107]
22 August –
Yes Scotland is forced to close its computer systems after being hacked by "forces unknown".
Police Scotland's Digital Forensic Unit launches an investigation but uncovers no evidence of criminality.[108]
23 August – a
Super Puma L2 helicopter crashes near
Sumburgh Airport in the
Shetland Islands, resulting in four fatalities among the oil rig workers being carried. Operation of the helicopter model is globally suspended.[109]
MPs vote 285–272 against the principle of British involvement in any military intervention in the
Syrian conflict.[111]
Members of the
Fire Brigades Union vote to take industrial action in a dispute over pensions, threatening the first firefighters' strike across England, Scotland and Wales since 2002.[112]
5 September – sixty people are injured as more than 130 vehicles are involved in a series of crashes in thick fog on the
Sheppey Crossing in Kent.[114]
7 September – a man is arrested on suspicion of burglary, trespass and criminal damage after scaling a fence to get into
Buckingham Palace.[115]
11 September – Conservative Party chairman
Grant Shapps writes to the UN Secretary General demanding an explanation after a UN official criticised
housing benefit changes as a "disgrace".[117]
20 September – UKIP withdraws the party whip from MEP
Godfrey Bloom after he referred to female activists as "
sluts" during his party's annual conference.[118]
24 September – at its annual conference, Labour leader
Ed Miliband says that if elected in 2015, his party would freeze energy prices for their first 20 months in office.[119]
25 September
Firefighters in England and Wales stage a four-hour strike in a dispute over changes to their pensions.[120]
3 October – The Mail on Sunday editor
Geordie Greig issues an unreserved apology to
Ed Miliband after a reporter was sent to a private memorial service for one of his relatives in an attempt to gather opinions from his family about a recent Daily Mail article that had accused the Labour Leader's late father,
Ralph of hating Britain. Two reporters are suspended as a result of the incident.[123]
7 October – launch of the
National Crime Agency, a new body designed to tackle some of Britain's most serious crimes.[124]
8 October
Banks begin to unveil details of the mortgages they will offer under the government's expanded
Help to Buy scheme.[125]
10 October – Justice Minister
Jeremy Wright confirms that former Liberian President
Charles Taylor will serve his jail sentence for war crimes in the UK.[128]
11 October – the UK government publishes a draft Royal Charter aimed at underpinning self-regulation of the press following an agreement by the three main political parties. However, the proposals are greeted with concerns about press freedom by the industry.[129] Proposals put forward by the press has previously been rejected by the
Privy council.[130]
15 October –
Charles Taylor arrives in the UK to serve the remainder of his 50-year prison sentence, the first head of state to be convicted of war crimes since World War II.[131]
18 October – a planned firefighters strike in England and Wales for the following day is called off at the eleventh hour, following progress in talks over pensions.[132]
20 October – about 100 homes are damaged when a "tornado" hits
Hayling Island in Hampshire.[134]
21 October – the government approves
Hinkley Point C, the first nuclear plant to be constructed in the UK since 1995. Originally due to be completed in 2023, completion is now due in 2028. The plant is intended to remain operational for 60 years, supplying about 7% of the country's electricity.[135]
22 October – former Prime Minister
Sir John Major calls for the government to levy a windfall tax on Britain's energy companies after three of the six major gas and electricity suppliers raise their prices by between eight and ten percent.[136]
23 October – Prime Minister
David Cameron announces a review of green energy taxes after saying they had pushed up household bills to "unacceptable" levels.[137]
28 October – St Judes Day storm: 99 mph gust recorded at the Needles on the Isle of Wight
30 October – the
Privy council grants a
Royal charter on press regulations after the newspaper industry loses a last minute legal bid to seek an injunction against the plans.[139]
November
1 November – firefighters in England and Wales stage a four and a half-hour strike in a row over pension ages, as "contingency" crews battle a large scrapyard blaze in London.[140]
14 November – the last living British person to be born in the 1800s, Grace Jones, dies aged 113.[141]
Former non-executive chairman of the Co-operative Bank
Paul Flowers is arrested by police in a drugs supply investigation, having been exposed agreeing to buy cocaine and methamphetamine by The Mail on Sunday newspaper. Flowers is also suspended from the Labour Party and Methodist Church as a result of the allegations.[144]
It is reported that
three women believed to have been held as slaves for the last three decades were rescued from a residence in London on 25 October.[145]
23 November – The fiftieth anniversary of science fiction TV series
Doctor Who is celebrated with the broadcast and cinema screenings of the anniversary special
The Day of the Doctor[146]
27 November – following a trial at Northampton Crown Court, businessman Anxiang Du is convicted of the
2011 murder of a family of four in a revenge attack after losing a legal case against them.[148]
29 November – eight people are killed and 19 seriously injured after a police helicopter
crashes into The Clutha pub in
Glasgow.[149]
December
4 December – pig semen exports from Britain to China are the subject of a protocol signed in Beijing by Environment Secretary
Owen Paterson as part of a trade mission that includes the Prime Minister,
David Cameron. The Chinese wish to improve their semen stock from boars in England and Northern Ireland.[150][151]
5 December –
Cyclone Bodil hits the UK, Netherlands, Denmark and Germany, disrupting traffic and causing widespread damage amid fears of flooding along the
North Sea coast.[152]
15 December –
Andy Murray wins BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2013.[153]
16 December – Home Secretary
Theresa May announces draft legislation to introduce tougher prison sentences for people convicted of offences relating to human trafficking.[154]
19 December – part of the ornate ceiling of the
Apollo Theatre in London collapses during a performance, injuring at least 81 people in the audience.[155]
20 December – following a
trial at
Isleworth Crown Court, sisters Elisabetta and Francesca Grillo, who worked as personal assistants to food writer
Nigella Lawson and her husband
Charles Saatchi for several years, are found not guilty on charges of stealing from the couple.[156]
23 December
Former MP
Denis MacShane is sentenced to six months in jail for expenses fraud after he admitted to submitting 19 false receipts totalling £12,900.[157]
4 January – Mark Cahill, a 51-year-old former pub landlord from
West Yorkshire becomes the first person in the UK to receive a
hand transplant.[2]
10 January –
April Casburn, a senior detective with the
Metropolitan Police is found guilty of trying to sell information on the investigation into
phone hacking to the News of the World, the newspaper at the centre of the scandal.[3] On 1 February she is jailed for fifteen months.[4]
22 January – a death sentence handed to British citizen
Lindsay Sandiford by an Indonesian court for drug smuggling is condemned by the UK government.[8]
30 January – Tony McCluskie is found guilty of the March 2012 murder of his sister, the actress
Gemma McCluskie and
jailed for life with a recommendation he serve a minimum term of 20 years.[10]
28 February – the
Eastleigh by-election, triggered by the resignation of
Chris Huhne, sees the Liberal Democrats hold the seat despite a UKIP surge that pushes the Conservatives into third place.[17]
Psychiatric patient
Nicola Edgington, who stabbed a woman to death six years after killing her mother is
jailed for life with a minimum of 37 years.[20]
11 March –
Chris Huhne and
Vicky Pryce are each jailed for eight months for perverting the course of justice.[26]
14 March
Prime Minister
David Cameron says talks between himself and the leaders of the UK's other main political parties on the recommendations of the
Leveson report have broken down and that he intends to publish a
Royal Charter on press regulation.[27]
Labour Party peer
Lord Ahmed is suspended from the party after claiming a conspiracy by
Jewish-owned media organisations was responsible for his imprisonment for dangerous driving.[28]
18 March – the final
BBC news bulletins are transmitted from
Television Centre, after 43 years of occupying the building, as the corporation moves its entire news operation to
Broadcasting House in central London.[31]
A teenage girl is found dead by police at a house in the
Atherton area of
Greater Manchester where four "out of control" dogs are subsequently put down. Police said her injuries are consistent with those of a dog attack.[35] She is named the following day as 14-year-old Jade Anderson.[36]
April
1 April –
Police Scotland begins operations, merging all the former forces in the country.
8 April – former British Prime Minister
Margaret Thatcherdies in London following a stroke.[38][39] Street parties are held in a number of cities across the UK to "celebrate".[40][41]
9 April – six days after being appointed as Britain's first Youth Police and Crime Commissioner, Paris Brown steps down from the role after controversy over postings she made on Twitter.[42]
10 April – "
Ding-Dong! The Witch Is Dead" charts at number 10 in the Official Midweek Charts as opponents of former Prime Minister
Margaret Thatcher have been buying copies of the song following her death two days earlier.[43]
23 April – businessman James McCormick is convicted on three counts of fraud at the
Old Bailey after selling
fake bomb detectors based on a device for finding golf balls to countries including Iraq and Georgia.[46]
May
2 May
James McCormick is jailed for ten years at the
Old Bailey.[47]
8 May – Sir
Alex Ferguson, the most successful manager in English football during his 27 years as manager of Manchester United, announces his retirement after the end of the Premier League season later in the month.[50]
9 May –
David Moyes, who has managed
Everton for 11 years during which they have qualified for European competitions on five occasions, is announced as the successor to Sir Alex Ferguson.[51]
13 May – Stuart Hazell, 38, admits the
murder of Tia Sharp, 12-year-old granddaughter of his partner Christine Sharp, who was found dead in
New Addington, London, nine months ago. His murder trial began six days ago but he has previously denied the charge against him.
14 May
The
Conservative Party publishes a draft European Union (Referendum) Bill aimed at holding a referendum on Britain's membership of the
European Union by 2017. Prime Minister
David Cameron had previously said a referendum would be held if he could renegotiate the terms of Britain's EU membership, but Tory MPs have been unhappy that legislation for a referendum was not included in the recent
Queen's Speech.[52]
Stuart Hazell is sentenced to life imprisonment at the
Old Bailey with a recommended minimum term of 38 years.
Three days after winning the FA Cup, Wigan Athletic are relegated from the Premier League after a 4–1 defeat to
Arsenal, making history as the first team to win the FA Cup and get relegated in the same season.[citation needed]
15 May
In the
House of Commons, an amendment to the
Queen's Speech expressing regret that it did not contain legislation for a referendum on Britain's EU membership is defeated 277–131.[53]
MPs debate government proposals to tighten the
law governing dangerous dogs following the death of Jade Anderson in March. The legislation would give police greater powers to deal with attacks on private property.[54]
16 May – UKIP leader
Nigel Farage is heckled by angry protesters during a campaign visit to
Edinburgh.[55]
22 May –
murder of Lee Rigby in
Woolwich: off-duty British soldier Fusilier Lee Rigby, a former drummer serving with
2nd Battalion the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, is killed in the street. Two men carrying knives and a meat cleaver are subsequently apprehended by police. The government treats the killing as a terrorist incident.[57] The victim's identity is confirmed the following day.[58]
24 May – a 24-year-old zoo worker is seriously injured after being attacked by a
Sumatran tiger at
South Lakes Wild Animal Park in Cumbria.[59] Sarah McClay subsequently dies in hospital as a result of her injuries. Police launch an investigation into the attack.[60]
25 May – 48 people are rescued from a boat which begins taking on water after colliding with a rock off the coast of
Pembrokeshire.[61]
30 May – a court in
Mold,
Wales, finds Mark Bridger guilty of abducting and murdering five-year-old
April Jones in October 2012. The trial judge recommends that 47-year-old Bridger should never be released from prison. The body of April Jones has not been found.[62]
2 June – two
British Labour Party peers are suspended by their party after allegations they offered to undertake Parliamentary work in exchange for payment. A third peer, from the
Ulster Unionist Party resigns the
whip following the allegations.[64]
20 June – Four Conservative MPs
Christopher Chope,
Peter Bone,
Philip Hollobone camped outside Parliament in a move to facilitate parliamentary debate on an 'Alternative Queen's Speech' – an attempt to show what a future Conservative government might deliver.[69] 42 policies were listed including
reintroduction of the
death penalty and
conscription, the privatisation of the
BBC, banning the
burka in public places, holding a referendum on same-sex marriage and preparing to leave the
European Union.[69]
Ed Miliband says he will end the automatic "affiliation" fee paid by three million union members to the
Labour Party after the
Unite union was accused of secretly signing up its members to get its favoured candidate elected in the
Falkirk constituency.[74]
A man who posted threats to kill 200 people on social networking site Facebook leading to school closures in the US state of
Tennessee is jailed for 28 months at
Newcastle Crown Court.[75]
The option of imposing a
whole life tariff for the worst murders in
England and Wales is ruled illegal by the
European Court of Human Rights following a legal challenge by three convicted murderers serving such sentences. They are
Jeremy Bamber, Douglas Vinter and
Peter Moore, who are among a group of at least 49 prisoners in England and Wales serving such sentences. The sentence is not an option in
Scotland.[76]
12 July – the funeral of murdered fusilier
Lee Rigby takes place in
Bury; attendees include Prime Minister
David Cameron.[78]
13 July – two soldiers die during a training exercise on the
Brecon Beacons on one of the hottest days of the year. The
Ministry of Defence works with
Dyfed-Powys Police to investigate.[79] On 30 July a third soldier dies in hospital.[80]
15 July – the House of Lords approves the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill, enabling gay marriages to take place in England and Wales from 2014.[81]
16 July –
Health SecretaryJeremy Hunt announces that eleven hospitals will be placed in special measures because of major failings.[82]
17 July
Rising temperatures led to heat health warnings being issued for Southern England and the Midlands in the UK's first prolonged heatwave since
2006.[83]
Prime Minister
David Cameron announces plans for every household in the UK to have
pornography automatically blocked by their internet provider unless they choose otherwise. The possession of online material depicting rape will also become illegal in England and Wales, bringing them into line with current Scottish legislation.[85]
The UK records its hottest day since July 2006, with 33.5C (92.3F) recorded at Heathrow and Northolt in west London.[86]
Home Office
"Go Home" vans begin to tour areas of London with high immigrant populations.[87]
23 July – overnight thunderstorms bring the three-week heat wave to an end.[90]
27 July – six people are taken to hospital after a
double-decker bus has its roof ripped off by a bridge in
Stockport, Greater Manchester.[91]
31 July – administrators recommend the dissolution of
Mid Staffordshire NHS Trust after it went into administration in April.[92]
August
1 August – temperatures of 33.7C are recorded at
Heathrow Airport and 34.1 in London – the hottest since 2006 – as the hot weather makes a brief return. The
Met Office says it is the hottest day since 2003 and the warmest summer since 2006.[93]
2 August – Magdelena Luczak and her partner, Mariusz Krezolek, are jailed for life with a minimum of 30 years for the murder of Luczak's four-year-old son
Daniel Pelka, who was beaten, and starved to death.[94]
3 August –
Tony Wang, head of
Twitter, apologises after women received bombing and rape threats by users of the site. The apology comes as the company updates its rules to help clamp down on threats and harassment.[95]
5 August – the world's first
lab-grown
burger – produced from bovine
stem cells – is cooked and eaten at a news conference in London.[96]
6 August – it is reported that sewage workers from
Thames Water have removed a fifteen ton bus-sized "
fatberg" – thought to be Britain's largest – from a sewer beneath London, after the mass caused a 95% blockage and threatened to send raw sewage spurting from
manhole covers.[97]
7 August –
Bank of England governor
Mark Carney says the Bank will not consider raising interest rates until the unemployment rate has fallen to 7% or below.[98]
10 August – 56 police officers are injured in Belfast after a night of loyalist rioting.[99]
11 August – two women who are UK nationals have been arrested on suspicion of smuggling drugs from
Peru, the country's police confirm.[100]
19 August
Senior politicians urge police to explain why the partner of a Guardian journalist who published leaked documents from US whistleblower
Edward Snowden was detained at
Heathrow Airport for nine hours.[101]
Green MP
Caroline Lucas and her son are among protesters arrested at a site in West Sussex where energy firm
Cuadrilla is drilling for oil.[102]
Chief executive of the UK Independence Party, Will Gilpin steps down from his post.[103]
20 August – Britons Michaella McCollum and Melissa Reid are formally charged with attempting to smuggle £1.5m worth of cocaine out of Peru.[104][105] They are remanded in custody the following day.[106]
21 August – an inspection report reveals that a female inmate at
HMP Bronzefield was kept in solitary confinement for more than five years.[107]
22 August –
Yes Scotland is forced to close its computer systems after being hacked by "forces unknown".
Police Scotland's Digital Forensic Unit launches an investigation but uncovers no evidence of criminality.[108]
23 August – a
Super Puma L2 helicopter crashes near
Sumburgh Airport in the
Shetland Islands, resulting in four fatalities among the oil rig workers being carried. Operation of the helicopter model is globally suspended.[109]
MPs vote 285–272 against the principle of British involvement in any military intervention in the
Syrian conflict.[111]
Members of the
Fire Brigades Union vote to take industrial action in a dispute over pensions, threatening the first firefighters' strike across England, Scotland and Wales since 2002.[112]
5 September – sixty people are injured as more than 130 vehicles are involved in a series of crashes in thick fog on the
Sheppey Crossing in Kent.[114]
7 September – a man is arrested on suspicion of burglary, trespass and criminal damage after scaling a fence to get into
Buckingham Palace.[115]
11 September – Conservative Party chairman
Grant Shapps writes to the UN Secretary General demanding an explanation after a UN official criticised
housing benefit changes as a "disgrace".[117]
20 September – UKIP withdraws the party whip from MEP
Godfrey Bloom after he referred to female activists as "
sluts" during his party's annual conference.[118]
24 September – at its annual conference, Labour leader
Ed Miliband says that if elected in 2015, his party would freeze energy prices for their first 20 months in office.[119]
25 September
Firefighters in England and Wales stage a four-hour strike in a dispute over changes to their pensions.[120]
3 October – The Mail on Sunday editor
Geordie Greig issues an unreserved apology to
Ed Miliband after a reporter was sent to a private memorial service for one of his relatives in an attempt to gather opinions from his family about a recent Daily Mail article that had accused the Labour Leader's late father,
Ralph of hating Britain. Two reporters are suspended as a result of the incident.[123]
7 October – launch of the
National Crime Agency, a new body designed to tackle some of Britain's most serious crimes.[124]
8 October
Banks begin to unveil details of the mortgages they will offer under the government's expanded
Help to Buy scheme.[125]
10 October – Justice Minister
Jeremy Wright confirms that former Liberian President
Charles Taylor will serve his jail sentence for war crimes in the UK.[128]
11 October – the UK government publishes a draft Royal Charter aimed at underpinning self-regulation of the press following an agreement by the three main political parties. However, the proposals are greeted with concerns about press freedom by the industry.[129] Proposals put forward by the press has previously been rejected by the
Privy council.[130]
15 October –
Charles Taylor arrives in the UK to serve the remainder of his 50-year prison sentence, the first head of state to be convicted of war crimes since World War II.[131]
18 October – a planned firefighters strike in England and Wales for the following day is called off at the eleventh hour, following progress in talks over pensions.[132]
20 October – about 100 homes are damaged when a "tornado" hits
Hayling Island in Hampshire.[134]
21 October – the government approves
Hinkley Point C, the first nuclear plant to be constructed in the UK since 1995. Originally due to be completed in 2023, completion is now due in 2028. The plant is intended to remain operational for 60 years, supplying about 7% of the country's electricity.[135]
22 October – former Prime Minister
Sir John Major calls for the government to levy a windfall tax on Britain's energy companies after three of the six major gas and electricity suppliers raise their prices by between eight and ten percent.[136]
23 October – Prime Minister
David Cameron announces a review of green energy taxes after saying they had pushed up household bills to "unacceptable" levels.[137]
28 October – St Judes Day storm: 99 mph gust recorded at the Needles on the Isle of Wight
30 October – the
Privy council grants a
Royal charter on press regulations after the newspaper industry loses a last minute legal bid to seek an injunction against the plans.[139]
November
1 November – firefighters in England and Wales stage a four and a half-hour strike in a row over pension ages, as "contingency" crews battle a large scrapyard blaze in London.[140]
14 November – the last living British person to be born in the 1800s, Grace Jones, dies aged 113.[141]
Former non-executive chairman of the Co-operative Bank
Paul Flowers is arrested by police in a drugs supply investigation, having been exposed agreeing to buy cocaine and methamphetamine by The Mail on Sunday newspaper. Flowers is also suspended from the Labour Party and Methodist Church as a result of the allegations.[144]
It is reported that
three women believed to have been held as slaves for the last three decades were rescued from a residence in London on 25 October.[145]
23 November – The fiftieth anniversary of science fiction TV series
Doctor Who is celebrated with the broadcast and cinema screenings of the anniversary special
The Day of the Doctor[146]
27 November – following a trial at Northampton Crown Court, businessman Anxiang Du is convicted of the
2011 murder of a family of four in a revenge attack after losing a legal case against them.[148]
29 November – eight people are killed and 19 seriously injured after a police helicopter
crashes into The Clutha pub in
Glasgow.[149]
December
4 December – pig semen exports from Britain to China are the subject of a protocol signed in Beijing by Environment Secretary
Owen Paterson as part of a trade mission that includes the Prime Minister,
David Cameron. The Chinese wish to improve their semen stock from boars in England and Northern Ireland.[150][151]
5 December –
Cyclone Bodil hits the UK, Netherlands, Denmark and Germany, disrupting traffic and causing widespread damage amid fears of flooding along the
North Sea coast.[152]
15 December –
Andy Murray wins BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2013.[153]
16 December – Home Secretary
Theresa May announces draft legislation to introduce tougher prison sentences for people convicted of offences relating to human trafficking.[154]
19 December – part of the ornate ceiling of the
Apollo Theatre in London collapses during a performance, injuring at least 81 people in the audience.[155]
20 December – following a
trial at
Isleworth Crown Court, sisters Elisabetta and Francesca Grillo, who worked as personal assistants to food writer
Nigella Lawson and her husband
Charles Saatchi for several years, are found not guilty on charges of stealing from the couple.[156]
23 December
Former MP
Denis MacShane is sentenced to six months in jail for expenses fraud after he admitted to submitting 19 false receipts totalling £12,900.[157]