The England cricket team loses the fifth Ashes test in Sydney, Australia by 10 wickets, resulting in a 5–0 series whitewash, the first time this has occurred since the 1920–1921 Ashes Tour.[4]
Bristol International Airport closes its runway due to concerns by various airlines (including easyJet and BA Connect) over the safety of landing in wet weather. This follows two days of nine airlines refusing to use the runway.[6]
Laura Pearce becomes the first contestant on Channel 4 television show Deal or No Deal to win the top prize of £250,000 since the start of the show on 31 October 2005. It has taken until the 351st attempt for the top prize to be won.[7]
9 January – New rules outlawing businesses from discriminating against homosexuals are held in the House of Lords, after a failed challenge by Lord Morrow of the Democratic Unionist Party.[8]
10–28 January – John Reid faces mounting problems continuing from those of his predecessors including further prisoner escapes especially from open prisons and also absconding of those under Control Orders[9]
10 January – Two military helicopters collide in mid-air near Market Drayton, Shropshire, killing one person and injuring three others.[10]
11 January – In an unexpected move, the Bank of England raises interest rates to 5.25%, an increase of 0.25%. This is the third rise in five months, after a year of stability.[11]
It is announced that methamphetamine – otherwise known as crystal meth – will be reclassified to a Class A drug, to avert widespread use of the drug.[13]
18 January – The UK is hit by torrential rain and gale-force winds, part of European stormKyrill, resulting in the deaths of at least nine people and causing havoc to public transport and electricity supplies.[15]
20 January – The British-registered container ship MSC Napoli, abandoned in storm Kyrill, is deliberately grounded to prevent it sinking, leading to concern about environmental damage to Branscombe beach in Devon.[16]
27 January – The final edition of Grandstand, the flagship BBC sports programme, is aired after nearly 50 years on television screens.[18]
February
1 February
Defence Secretary Des Browne announces that the UK forces in Southern Afghanistan will be boosted by 800.
Passenger duty for flights from the UK double.[19]
Downing Street officials reveal that Tony Blair has been interviewed as a witness by police on 26 January in connection with the Cash-for-honours allegations.
3 February – The presence of the H5N1 virus in the avian flu outbreak at the Holton turkey plant in Suffolk is confirmed.[20]
11 February
The British Academy Film Awards are held; winners include Helen Mirren for Best Actress.[21]
11 March – The Ariane 5 rocket carrying the new generation Skynet 5 military satellite system is launched successfully from Kourou in French Guiana at 22:03 GMT.[32]
The BBC's correspondent in the Gaza Strip, Alan Johnston, who is the only foreign reporter from a major media organisation based in Gaza, is kidnapped. All the main Palestinian militant groups call for his release.[34]
13 March
Five British Embassy workers who were kidnapped in Ethiopia twelve days ago are set free in neighbouring Eritrea.[35]
15 March – Sally Clark, the woman who spent four years in prison before being released in 2003 when the High Court cleared her of killing her two baby sons (victims of cot death), dies at the age of 42.[38] On 7 November an inquest in Essex hears that she died of "acute alcohol intoxication".[39]
Pop four piece Scooch controversially wins the right to represent the United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest in Helsinki, Finland. The Making Your Mind Up selection show is marred by co-host Terry Wogan announcing French songstress Cyndi Almouzni as the winner, whereas Fearne Cotton announces Scooch as winning. The final results show Scooch having received 53% compared to Cyndi's 47%.
15 April – Two UK military helicopters collide near the town of Taji near Baghdad, killing two soldiers.[52]
17 April – Inflation at an annual rate of 3% falls outside government target range, causing for the first time, the Governor of the Bank of England to have to write a letter to the Chancellor of the Exchequer as required by Monetary Policy Committee rules, explaining the reasons for this.[53]
24 April – British anti-terrorism police arrest five people in London and one in Luton for alleged breaches of the Terrorism Act.[54]
28 April – An earthquake measuring 4.3 on the richter scale strikes Kent, injuring one and causing damage to buildings.
30 April – A smoking ban comes into effect in all enclosed public places in Northern Ireland.[48]
May
May – The new Ford Mondeo goes on sale in the UK with a range of saloons, hatchbacks and estates.
2007 National Assembly for Wales election: Labour's hopes of obtaining a full majority in the assembly are dashed when they are dealt a net loss of 4 seats, bringing them down to 26. Plaid Cymru win 15 seats, up 3; the Conservatives win 12, up 1; and the Liberal Democrats win 6, exactly level with their last result. A coalition is eventually agreed between Labour and Plaid Cymru.
2007 local elections: Local elections are held in most of England and all of Scotland. The Conservatives have an overall increase of councils, councillors and vote share; while both Labour and the Liberal Democrats have an overall decrease in councils and councillors, but a slight increase in vote share. These are also the first local elections since the age of candidacy was lowered from 21 to 18, meaning this is the first time that 18-, 19- and 20-year-olds can stand as candidates in council seats.
4 May – Peter Tobin is convicted at the High Court in Edinburgh of murdering Polish student Angelika Kluk, whose body he hid at St Patrick's Church, Anderston, where he worked as a handyman, before fleeing to London.[56]
6 May – Manchester United F.C. win their ninth Premier League title.[57]
29 May – The Longbridge car factory in Birmingham reopens, two years after the bankruptcy of MG Rover. The reopened factory is a scaled down operation which will initially just produce the MG TF sports car, though there are plans by the Chinese owners Nanjing Automobile to build other cars there in the future.
14 June – The final MORI opinion poll of Tony Blair's 10-year reign as Prime Minister shows his Labour government 3 points ahead of the Tories on 39%.[71]
20 June – Scarborough F.C., who were members of the Football League from 1987 to 1999, go out of business with debts of £2.5million. The North Yorkshire side has just suffered a second successive relegation which placed them in the Northern Premier League had they managed to stay afloat.[72]
Michael Mullen, 21, of Leeds, is sentenced to life imprisonment for the rape and murder of his two-year-old niece Casey Leigh Mullen, who died at her home in the city on 11 February. The trial judge recommends that Mullen should serve a minimum of 35 years before being considered for parole.
Demolition work begins on the historic HP Sauce factory in Birmingham, which closed in May with the loss of 125 jobs and the end of more than 100 years of manufacturing when the production facility was transferred to the Netherlands.
22 August – Murder of Rhys Jones: 11-year-old Rhys Jones is shot dead in Croxteth, Liverpool. His death is believed to have been a random shooting carried out by a local gang.[14]
10 September – Television entertainer Michael Barrymore is told that he will not face charges in connection with the death of Stuart Lubbock, the man who was found dead in a swimming pool at his house more than six years ago.
15 September – Rally driver Colin McRae and three other people are killed when their helicopter crashes near Lanark.[82]
26 September – The appointment of Gordon Brown as Prime Minister and the manner in which he subsequently deals with the various crises over July and August (the discovery of two car bombs in London, Glasgow Airport attack, floods, foot and mouth, etc.) appears to have been well received with voters, as an Ipsos MORI opinion poll puts Labour at 48% with a 20-point lead over the Conservatives, sparking media reports that Brown will call an early general election within the next few weeks, which would form a term of parliament until the end of 2012.[83]
October
6 October – Gordon Brown announces there will be no early general election in an interview with the BBC's Andrew Marr at Number 10, prompting the media to call him 'Bottler Brown'.
Labour fall behind the Conservatives in a MORI opinion poll for the first time since Gordon Brown became Prime Minister due to the early election débâcle, as their 35% showing puts them five points off the top.[84]
Disappearance of Madeleine McCann: a German magazine comes under fire from the British and European media and public for a satirical article about Madeleine McCann, an English child not seen since she went missing in the Algarve, Portugal, nearly six months ago.[citation needed]
8–9 November – Cyclone Tilo / North Sea flood of 2007: Flood warnings are issued for the east coast of the UK as the waves are expected to overwhelm sea defences and cause extensive flooding. The storm surge however turns out to be less extreme than forecast.[86]
16 November – Police searching a former home in Margate, Kent, of convicted murderer Peter Tobin find a body, believed to be that of Dinah McNicol, aged 18, who disappeared in 1991. It follows the discovery earlier this week of the remains of Vicky Hamilton, aged 15, who also disappeared in 1991, in a sandpit at the same property.[87]
20 November – Child benefit data scandal: HM Revenue and Customs admits that it has misplaced two computer discs which contained the records of child benefit claimants data, including bank details and National Insurance numbers, leaving up to 7.25 million households susceptible to identity theft.
13 December – Gordon Brown turns up late to the signing of the Treaty of Lisbon, prompting criticism from the media. The Sun reports that Brown's late arrival was intended to 'snub' other EU leaders, contradicting Number 10's line of a diary conflict; Brown had attended a pre-arranged House of Commons liaison committee that morning.[91]
19 December – The Confederation of British Industry reveals disappointing retail sales for the first two weeks of the month, sparking fears that the UK is on the verge of its first recession since the early 1990s.[93]
17 December – James (Viscount Severn, later Earl of Wessex), son of Prince Edward and Sophie (Earl and Countess of Wessex, later Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh)
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