2000 in the United Kingdom

2000 in the United Kingdom
Other years
1998 | 1999 | 2000 (2000) | 2001 | 2002
Constituent countries of the United Kingdom
England | Northern Ireland | Scotland | Wales
Popular culture

Events from the year 2000 in the United Kingdom.

Incumbents

Events

January

  • Japanese carmaker Nissan adds a third model to its factory near Sunderland: the new version of the Almera hatchback and saloon, which goes on sale in March.[1]
  • 1 January – Millennium celebrations take place throughout the UK. The Millennium Dome in London is officially opened by HM The Queen.
  • 4 January – Catherine Hartley and Fiona Thornewill become the first British women to reach the South Pole.[2]
  • 10 January – Tony Blair's wife, Cherie, is fined for not having a valid train ticket with her on a journey from Blackfriars to Luton. She claims to have had only Portuguese currency with her at the time and to have been unable to find a machine where she could use her credit card.[3]
  • 11 January – A Scottish trawler, the Solway Harvester, sinks in the Irish Sea, killing seven sailors.[4]
  • 12 January – Indictment and arrest of Augusto Pinochet: It is announced that former Chilean dictator, Augusto Pinochet, is to be deported after the Home Secretary, Jack Straw, accepts "unequivocal and unanimous" medical evidence that Pinochet is unfit to stand trial in Spain on charges of torture.[5]
  • 22 January – The Rugby league 2000 World Club Challenge is won by Melbourne Storm who defeat St. Helens 44 – 6 at the JJB Stadium in Wigan.
  • 31 January – Dr. Harold Shipman is sentenced to life imprisonment after being found guilty of murdering fifteen patients in Greater Manchester between 1995–98. He is also sentenced to four years in prison, to run concurrently, for forging the will of one of his victims.[6] The subsequent enquiry considers him to have killed at least 215.[7]

February

March

April

May

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 across the Thames in London opens to the public, but has to close after it starts swaying.[12]
  • 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 two 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.
  • 22 June – At the Tottenham by-election following the death of Labour MP Bernie Grant, the Labour candidate David Lammy holds the seat.[8]
  • 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 thirty years before being considered for parole, meaning that he is likely to remain in prison until at least 2029 and the age of 54.[9]

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.[27]
  • 14 July – Reality television game show Big Brother first airs in the UK.
  • 17 July – Murder of Sarah Payne: a 6-year-old Surrey girl is found dead in West Sussex, having gone missing sixteen days earlier. On 23 July, the News of the World starts a campaign for Sarah's Law, a child sex offender disclosure scheme.
  • 18 July – Alex Salmond resigns as leader of the Scottish National Party.[9]
  • 20 July
    • Production of the Ford Escort, one of Britain's most successful and iconic motoring nameplates, finishes after 32 years.
    • Rioting breaks out in Brixton (south London) following the fatal shooting of Derek Bennett, a 29-year-old black man, by armed police in the area. 27 people are arrested and three police officers are injured.[28]
  • 28 July – The final eighty prisoners leave Maze Prison in Northern Ireland as part of the Northern Ireland peace process.[29]

August

September

  • September – Ford unveils its all-new second generation Mondeo large family car, which is due for 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 eighteen months) are boosted when they come two points ahead of Labour on 38% in a MORI opinion poll.[32]
  • 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.
  • 21 September – William McCrea of the Democratic Unionist Party wins the South Antrim by-election from the Ulster Unionist Party.[8]
  • 23 September

October

  • October – Ford launches the all-new Mondeo with a range of saloons, hatchbacks and estates.
  • 1 October – Reggie Kray dies from cancer at a hotel in Norwich aged 66.[35]
  • 3 October – Approximate start of Autumn 2000 Western Europe floods, particularly affecting England, the worst nationally since the winter of 1946–47 in the United Kingdom, precipitated by the most rainfall since 1766.
  • 4 October – After forty-one years, production of the Mini 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 German carmaker BMW.[36]
  • 7 October – Wembley Stadium closes after seventy-seven years. It is set to re-open in 2003, following a complete reconstruction that will see its seating 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 eighteen months in charge.
  • 16 October – The BBC's main evening news programme moves to 10:00pm; the following year ITV1 will move its news programme back to the same time slot and broadcast in direct competition.
  • 17 October – Hatfield rail crash: A Great North Eastern Railway InterCity 225 train derails south of Hatfield station, killing four people.[37]
  • 23 October – After the fuel protests has been resolved, support for the Labour Party has been restored, according to the latest MORI opinion poll which shows them 13 points ahead of the Conservatives with an approval rating of 45%.[38]
  • 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.[39]
  • 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 football team for five years commencing next July. Eriksson will be the first foreign manager to take charge of the England national team, but until his arrival, the England team will be jointly managed by interim coaches Peter Taylor and Howard Wilkinson.

November

December

Undated

  • 2000 is the wettest year on record in the UK.[45]
  • 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.[46]

Publications

Births

Deaths

See also

References

  1. "Nissan Sunderland-history: January 2000". Archived from the original on 11 May 2012. Retrieved 16 May 2013.
  2. "First British women reach South Pole". On This Day. BBC News. 4 January 2000. Archived from the original on 12 January 2008. Retrieved 31 January 2008.
  3. "PM's wife pays penalty fare". BBC News. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
  4. "Seven missing in Irish Sea". On This Day. BBC News. 11 January 2000. Archived from the original on 7 March 2008. Retrieved 31 January 2008.
  5. Watt, Nicholas (12 January 2000). "Pinochet to be set free". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
  6. "Life for serial killer Shipman". On This Day. BBC News. 31 January 2000. Archived from the original on 3 February 2008. Retrieved 31 January 2008.
  7. "Harold Shipman: Timeline". BBC News. 18 July 2002. Retrieved 18 June 2019.
  8. "Factsheet M16: By-election results, 1997–2001" (PDF). House of Commons Information Office. September 2003. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
  9. McGuinness, Ross (16 March 2009). "Metro". pp. 30, 31.
  10. "Questions and answers that surround a catalogue of abuse against children". The Guardian. London. 16 February 2000. Archived from the original on 12 January 2008. Retrieved 31 January 2008.
  11. "Nuclear chief quits over safety scandal". On This Day. BBC News. 28 February 2000. Archived from the original on 3 March 2008. Retrieved 31 January 2008.
  12. Penguin Pocket On This Day. Penguin Reference Library. 2006. ISBN 0-14-102715-0.
  13. "Consumer Protection (Uno plc and World of Leather)". House of Commons Hansard Debates. parliament.uk. 24 May 2000. p. 3. Archived from the original on 7 October 2008. Retrieved 13 September 2010.
  14. "Trimble narrowly wins leadership challenge". On This Day. BBC News. 25 March 2000. Archived from the original on 7 March 2008. Retrieved 31 January 2008.
  15. Sparrow, Andrew (4 March 2008). "What is the military covenant?". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 9 February 2011.
  16. "Wartime coding machine stolen". On This Day. BBC News. 1 April 2000. Archived from the original on 7 March 2008. Retrieved 31 January 2008.
  17. "Access to Justice Act 1999". Retrieved 18 January 2011.
  18. "Gangster Charlie Kray dies". BBC News. 4 April 2000. Retrieved 18 June 2019.
  19. "Queen honours NI police". On This Day. BBC News. 12 April 2000. Archived from the original on 7 March 2008. Retrieved 31 January 2008.
  20. "M25 killer gets life". On This Day. BBC News. 14 April 2000. Archived from the original on 7 March 2008. Retrieved 31 January 2008.
  21. "May Day violence on London streets". On This Day. BBC News. 1 May 2000. Archived from the original on 2 February 2008. Retrieved 31 January 2008.
  22. "Leading stock exchanges plan merger". On This Day. BBC News. 3 May 2000. Archived from the original on 7 March 2008. Retrieved 31 January 2008.
  23. "Tramlink Information". Transport for All. Retrieved 7 December 2017.
  24. "FA Cup 2000". Retrieved 20 March 2009.
  25. "The National Botanic Garden of Wales". Welsh Assembly Government. Retrieved 27 January 2011.
  26. "HC Deb 24 May 2000 vol 350 cc542-4W". Hansard. 2000. Retrieved 24 July 2008.
  27. Yeoman, Fran; Evans, Ian (21 September 2006). "300mph record broken, then Hammond crashes". The Times. London. Retrieved 8 February 2011.
  28. "Violence after police shooting demo". BBC News. 21 July 2001. Retrieved 19 June 2016.
  29. "Last prisoners leave the Maze". On This Day. BBC News. 28 July 2000. Archived from the original on 7 March 2008. Retrieved 31 January 2008.
  30. "Queen Mother celebrates centenary". On this Day. BBC News. 4 August 2000. Archived from the original on 7 March 2008. Retrieved 31 January 2008.
  31. "Reggie Kray freed". BBC News. Retrieved 16 May 2013.
  32. "Poll tracker". BBC News. 2010. Retrieved 18 June 2019.
  33. Diver, Krysia; Wilson, Lucy (23 September 2000). "Thousands Feel the Earth Move: Quake's 5.30 am wake-up alarm". Coventry Evening Telegraph. Retrieved 8 September 2010.
  34. "Redgrave wins fifth Olympic gold". On This Day. BBC News. 23 September 2000. Archived from the original on 7 March 2008. Retrieved 31 January 2008.
  35. "Reggie Kray dies". BBC News. 1 October 2000. Retrieved 18 June 2019.
  36. "End of the Mini". BBC News. 4 October 2000. Retrieved 18 June 2019.
  37. "Four dead in Hatfield rail crash". On This Day. BBC News. 17 October 2000. Archived from the original on 7 March 2008. Retrieved 31 January 2008.
  38. "WebCite query result". www.webcitation.org. Archived from the original on 21 February 2011.
  39. "A brief history of divorce". The Guardian. London. 19 September 2009. Retrieved 6 July 2010.
  40. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 26 October 2012. Retrieved 5 May 2010.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  41. "Schoolboy Damilola Taylor dies in stabbing". On this Day. BBC News. 27 November 2000. Archived from the original on 7 March 2008. Retrieved 31 January 2008.
  42. "Damilola tragedy unfolds". BBC News. 6 December 2000. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
  43. "Today & History". Equitable Life. 26 June 2009. Archived from the original on 29 June 2009. Retrieved 20 October 2010.
  44. "2000: Madonna weds her Guy". On This Day. BBC News. 2008. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
  45. Met Office figures. Carrington, Damian (3 January 2013). "2012 second wettest year on record for UK". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
  46. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 31 December 2013. Retrieved 29 December 2013.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  47. Smith, Jon (21 May 2000). "Baby Leo is 'gorgeous', says proud father Tony". Sunday Independent. Dublin. p. 8.
  48. Laws, Roz (13 July 2011). "Budding Birmingham film star Kia Pegg gets to be very naughty on screen". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 23 March 2016.

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