1997 in England
Encyclopedia
 1997 in England |
| Years |
| 1995 1995 in England Events from 1995 in England-Incumbents:*Monarch - Queen Elizabeth II -January:* 1 January - Fred West is found hanged in his cell at Winson Green Prison in Birmingham. The 53-year-old had been on remand since February last year, having allegedly murdered 12 people whose bodies were found at three... | 1996 1996 in England Events from 1996 in England-Incumbents:*Monarch - Queen Elizabeth II -Events:* 1 January - One man is killed and two others are wounded when they attempted to foil an armed robbery in Bristol.... | 1997 | 1998 1998 in England Events from 1998 in England-Incumbents:*Monarch - Queen Elizabeth II *Prime Minister - Tony Blair-Events:* 16 January - Two 10-year-olds go on trial, the youngest ever to be accused of rape.... | 1999 1999 in England Events from 1999 in England-Incumbents:*Monarch - Queen Elizabeth II *Prime Minister - Tony Blair-January:* 22 January - Aston Villa, who have emerged as surprise FA Premier League title contenders this season, have their double hopes shattered by a shock 2-0 exit by the ambitious Division Two club... |
| Centuries |
| 18th century | 19th century | 20th century | 21st century |
| See also |
| 1996-97 in English football 1996-97 in English football The 1996–1997 season was the 117th season of competitive football in England.Arrival into the league and exit out of the league returns in the fourth tier for the first time after its 3 season absence with only 1 relegation spot.- Premier League :... |
| 1997-98 in English football 1997-98 in English football The 1997-1998 season was the 118th season of competitive football in England.-Premier League:Arsenal overhauled Manchester United's lead during the final weeks of the season to win the Premiership title... |
Events from 1997 in England
Incumbents
- Monarch - Queen Elizabeth II (since 6 February 1952)
Events
- 1 January - Police in Sutton ColdfieldSutton ColdfieldSutton Coldfield is a suburb of Birmingham, in the West Midlands of England. Sutton is located about from central Birmingham but has borders with Erdington and Kingstanding. Sutton is in the northeast of Birmingham, with a population of 105,000 recorded in the 2001 census...
, near BirminghamBirminghamBirmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, launch a murder hunt after 17-year-old student Nicola Dixon is found bludgeoned to death in an alleyway in the town. - 4 January - Tony BullimoreTony BullimoreTony Bullimore is a British sailor from Bristol.He is most famous for being rescued during the 1996 Vendee Globe single handed around the world race. The race was marked by a number of incidents including the death of another contestant, Gerry Roufs...
, a lone yachtsman, is feared drowned after his boat capsizes in the Indian OceanIndian OceanThe Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
. - 8 January - Kevin KeeganKevin KeeganJoseph Kevin Keegan, OBE is a former international footballer and former manager of the England national football team and several English clubs, most notably Newcastle United....
stuns the football world by announcing his resignation as manager of FA Premier LeagueFA Premier LeagueThe Premier League is an English professional league for association football clubs. At the top of the English football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with The Football League. The Premier...
title chasers Newcastle UnitedNewcastle United F.C.Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End and Newcastle West End, and has played at its current home ground, St James' Park, since the merger...
. He had been in charge of the club since February 1992 when they were on the brink of relegation from the old Football League Second DivisionFootball League Second DivisionFrom 1892 until 1992, the Football League Second Division was the second highest division overall in English football.This ended with the creation of the FA Premier League, prior to the start of the 1992–93 season, which caused an administrative split between The Football League and the teams...
, but swiftly turned their fortunes around as they won promotion to the FA Premier League in 1993 and have finished in the top six every season since then, including the last football season1995-96 in English football- Premiership :Newcastle United were 12 points clear at the top of Manchester United, but Alex Ferguson's relatively young and inexperienced side overhauled them during the second half of the season to win the title....
where they were narrowly beaten to the title by Manchester United. - 9 January - Tony Bullimore is found safe and well after being spotted by the crew of an AustraliaAustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n navy ship. - 14 January - Kenny DalglishKenny DalglishKenneth Mathieson "Kenny" Dalglish MBE is a Scottish former footballer and the current manager of Liverpool F.C.. In a 22-year playing career, he played for two club teams, Celtic and Liverpool, winning numerous honours with both. He is the most capped Scottish player, with 102 appearances, and...
, who managed LiverpoolLiverpool F.C.Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...
to three league titles between 1986 and 1990 and won the 1995 FA Premier League title with Blackburn RoversBlackburn Rovers F.C.Blackburn Rovers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Blackburn, Lancashire. The team currently competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football....
, is appointed manager of Newcastle United. - 16 January - The Conservative PartyConservative Party (UK)The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
government loses its majority in the House of CommonsBritish House of CommonsThe House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
after the death of Iain MillsIain MillsIain Campbell Mills was a Conservative Party politician in the United Kingdom.Mills was educated in southern Africa, and subsequently worked as a Market Planning Executive for Dunlop...
, MP for MeridenMeriden (UK Parliament constituency)-Elections in the 2000s:-Elections in the 1990s:- Notes and references :...
. - 17 January
- A jury at the Old BaileyOld BaileyThe Central Criminal Court in England and Wales, commonly known as the Old Bailey from the street in which it stands, is a court building in central London, one of a number of buildings housing the Crown Court...
rules that 86-year-old Szymon Serafinowicz is unfit to stand trial on charges of murdering JewsJudaismJudaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
during the Holocaust. - East 17East 17East 17 are a pop boy band comprising Tony Mortimer, John Hendy and Terry Coldwell. Tony Mortimer is the group's frontman and primary songwriter. Formed in Walthamstow, London in 1991, the group have achieved eighteen Top 20 singles and four Top 10 albums, and were one of the UK's most popular boy...
singer Brian HarveyBrian HarveyBrian Harvey is an English musician and formerly lead singer of pop band East 17.Harvey was born in Walthamstow, London, and attended Sir George Monoux School from 1988-90.-Career:...
is dismissed from the band after publicly commenting that the drug Ecstasy is safe.
- A jury at the Old Bailey
- 20 January - Death of Labour PartyLabour Party (UK)The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
MP Martin RedmondMartin RedmondMartin Redmond was a British Labour Party politician from Doncaster in South Yorkshire.Redmond was educated at Woodlands Roman Catholic School and then by day release at the University of Sheffield. He worked as a driver of heavy goods vehicles, and was elected to Doncaster Borough Council in 1975...
ends the government's minority. - 3 February - Miles Evans, a 23-year-old soldier from WarminsterWarminsterWarminster is a town in western Wiltshire, England, by-passed by the A36, and near Frome and Westbury. It has a population of about 17,000. The River Were runs through the town and can be seen running through the middle of the town park. The Minster Church of St Denys sits on the River Were...
in WiltshireWiltshireWiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
, is charged with the murder of his nine-year-old stepdaughter Zoe, who was reported missing on 9 January. Her body has not been found, but police are convinced that she is dead because they have found bloodstained clothing in the search for her. - 6 February - The Court of Appeal rules that Mrs Diane Blood of LeedsLeedsLeeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
can be inseminated with her dead husband's sperm. Mrs Blood had been challenging for the right to use the sperm of her husband Stephen since just after his death two years ago. - 10 February - Louise Woodward, an 18-year-old au pair from EltonElton, CheshireElton is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It is situated approximately to the northeast of Chester, between Helsby and Ellesmere Port, near to the River Mersey. Its proximity to the River Mersey and...
in CheshireCheshireCheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
, is charged with the murder of nine-month-old Matthew Eappen, a baby in her care who died yesterday four days after being admitted to hospital in the United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. - 14 February- Jurors at the inquest into the death of Stephen LawrenceStephen LawrenceStephen Lawrence was a black British teenager from Eltham, southeast London, who was stabbed to death while waiting for a bus on the evening of 22 April 1993....
rule that the black teenager was unlawfully killed "in a completely unprovoked racist attack by five white youths". - 15 February - 13-year-old Billie-Jo Jenkins is found dead after being battered at her foster father's home in HastingsHastingsHastings is a town and borough in the county of East Sussex on the south coast of England. The town is located east of the county town of Lewes and south east of London, and has an estimated population of 86,900....
, East SussexEast SussexEast Sussex is a county in South East England. It is bordered by the counties of Kent, Surrey and West Sussex, and to the south by the English Channel.-History:...
. - 21 February - Three menBridgewater FourThe Bridgewater Four was the collective name given to the quartet of men who were tried and found guilty of killing 13 year old paperboy Carl Bridgewater, who was shot in the head at close range. After 18 years their convictions were overturned...
who have spent 18 years in prison after being convicted of murdering 13-year-old Carl Bridgewater in 1978 have their convictions overturned by the Court of Appeal. - 22 February - ScientistScientistA scientist in a broad sense is one engaging in a systematic activity to acquire knowledge. In a more restricted sense, a scientist is an individual who uses the scientific method. The person may be an expert in one or more areas of science. This article focuses on the more restricted use of the word...
s at the Roslin Institute announce the birth of a clonedCloningCloning in biology is the process of producing similar populations of genetically identical individuals that occurs in nature when organisms such as bacteria, insects or plants reproduce asexually. Cloning in biotechnology refers to processes used to create copies of DNA fragments , cells , or...
sheep named DollyDolly the SheepDolly was a female domestic sheep, and the first mammal to be cloned from an adult somatic cell, using the process of nuclear transfer. She was cloned by Ian Wilmut, Keith Campbell and colleagues at the Roslin Institute near Edinburgh in Scotland...
seven months after the fact. - 25 February
- John MajorJohn MajorSir John Major, is a British Conservative politician, who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990–1997...
promises to privatise the London UndergroundLondon UndergroundThe London Underground is a rapid transit system serving a large part of Greater London and some parts of Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Essex in England...
by the year 2000 if the Conservatives are re-elected this year. - A girl's body found in the River Dee near ChesterChesterChester is a city in Cheshire, England. Lying on the River Dee, close to the border with Wales, it is home to 77,040 inhabitants, and is the largest and most populous settlement of the wider unitary authority area of Cheshire West and Chester, which had a population of 328,100 according to the...
today is identified as that of nine-year-old Kayleigh Ward, who went missing in the BlaconBlaconBlacon is a large suburb near Chester, in Cheshire, England, containing a mixture of private homes and substantial public council-built properties...
area of the city on 19 December last year.
- John Major
- 26 February - John O'Shaughnessy, 30, is charged with the rape and murder of Kayleigh Ward.
- 27 February - The government loses its Commons majority again after the Labour victory at the Wirral South by-electionWirral South by-election, 1997A by-election was held for the United Kingdom parliament constituency of Wirral South, in Merseyside, England, on 27 February 1997. The seat became vacant on the death of Conservative Party Member of Parliament Barry Porter, and was won by Labour's Ben Chapman....
. - 9 March - ChesterfieldChesterfield F.C.Chesterfield Football Club is an English football club based in Chesterfield, Derbyshire. The club currently plays in Football League One, the third tier of English football. Despite being the fourth oldest Football League club in England, they have spent most of their existence in the lower...
, the Division TwoFootball League Second DivisionFrom 1892 until 1992, the Football League Second Division was the second highest division overall in English football.This ended with the creation of the FA Premier League, prior to the start of the 1992–93 season, which caused an administrative split between The Football League and the teams...
club, reach the FA CupFA CupThe Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
semi-final for the first time in their history by beating fellow Division Two club Wrexham 1-0 in the quarter-final. - 10 March - Three people die and more than 60 are injured in a multiple pile-up1997 M42 motorway crashThe 1997 M42 motorway crash is a multiple vehicle collision which occurred on 10 March 1997 on the M42 motorway at Bromsgrove, Worcestershire in the United Kingdom as a result of fog...
caused by thick fog on the M42 motorwayM42 motorwayThe M42 motorway is a major road in England. The motorway runs north east from Bromsgrove in Worcestershire to just south west of Ashby-de-la-Zouch in Leicestershire, passing Redditch, Solihull, the National Exhibition Centre and Tamworth on the way. The section between the M40 and M6 road forms...
south of BirminghamBirminghamBirmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
. - 14 March - Sion Jenkins, a 39-year-old deputy headmaster, is charged with murdering his foster daughter Billie-Jo Jenkins.
- 19 March - Manchester United FC complete a 4-0 aggregate win over the PortugesePortugalPortugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
champions FC Porto to reach the European Cup semi finals for the first time in 28 years. - 26 March
- Andrew Devine, who was left in a persistent vegetative statePersistent vegetative stateA persistent vegetative state is a disorder of consciousness in which patients with severe brain damage are in a state of partial arousal rather than true awareness. It is a diagnosis of some uncertainty in that it deals with a syndrome. After four weeks in a vegetative state , the patient is...
by brain damage suffered in the Hillsborough disasterHillsborough disasterThe Hillsborough disaster was a human crush that occurred on 15 April 1989 at Hillsborough, a football stadium, the home of Sheffield Wednesday F.C. in Sheffield, England, resulting in the deaths of 96 people, and 766 being injured, all fans of Liverpool F.C....
in April 1989, is reported to have emerged from the coma-like condition after being able to communicate to his family by using a touch-sensitive switch.http://www.independent.co.uk/news/hillsborough-survivor-awakes-1275031.html - Middlesbrough FC, this season's Football League CupFootball League CupThe Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...
finalists, lose a Football Association appeal against a three-point deduction imposed upon them for cancelling a game against Blackburn Rovers FC three months ago - despite chairman Steve Gibson and manager Bryan RobsonBryan RobsonBryan Robson OBE is an English football manager and a former player. He is best known for playing in midfield for Manchester United, where he was the longest serving captain in club history. He was the manager of Sheffield United, being relieved of his first team duties at the club in February 2008...
insisting that it was impossible to field a team for the game due to so many players being unavailable through injury or illness. The points deduction has made the battle against FA Premier League relegation even harder for Middlesbrough, who are also in this season's FA Cup semi-finals.
- Andrew Devine, who was left in a persistent vegetative state
- April - Nursery Education Voucher Scheme introduced, guaranteeing a government-funded contribution to the cost of preschool educationPreschool educationPreschool education is the provision of learning to children before the commencement of statutory and obligatory education, usually between the ages of zero and three or five, depending on the jurisdiction....
for 4-year-olds. - 6 April - Leicester CityLeicester City F.C.Leicester City Football Club , also known as The Foxes, is an English professional football club based at the King Power Stadium in Leicester...
and Middlesbrough draw 1-1 in the Football League CupFootball League CupThe Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...
final at Wembley StadiumWembley StadiumThe original Wembley Stadium, officially known as the Empire Stadium, was a football stadium in Wembley, a suburb of north-west London, standing on the site now occupied by the new Wembley Stadium that opened in 2007...
, forcing a replay at HillsboroughHillsborough StadiumHillsborough Stadium is the home of Sheffield Wednesday football club, Sheffield, England. Football has been played at the ground since it was opened on 2 September 1899, when Wednesday moved from their original ground at Olive Grove. Today it is a 39,812 capacity all-seater stadium, making it the...
later this month. - 8 April - BBC journalist Martin BellMartin BellMartin Bell, OBE, is a British UNICEF Ambassador, a former broadcast war reporter and former independent politician...
announces that he is to stand as a candidate against Neil HamiltonNeil Hamilton (politician)Mostyn Neil Hamilton is a former British barrister, teacher and Conservative MP. Since losing his seat in 1997 and leaving politics, Hamilton and his wife Christine have become media celebrities...
in the Tatton constituencyTatton (UK Parliament constituency)- Elections in the 1990s :- Elections in the 1980s :- Sources :* Data for the 2005 election are from the .* Data for the 2001 election are from http://www.election.demon.co.uk/....
on an anti-corruption platform. - 11 April - Eight male teenagers are found guilty of raping a 32-year-old AustriaAustriaAustria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n woman in King's CrossKings Cross, LondonKing's Cross is an area of London partly in the London Borough of Camden and partly in the London Borough of Islington. It is an inner-city district located 2.5 miles north of Charing Cross. The area formerly had a reputation for being a red light district and run-down. However, rapid regeneration...
, LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. - 16 April - Leicester City win the Football League Cup for the second time in their history with a 1-0 replay win over Middlesbrough.
- 18 April - The teenagers who gang raped the Austrian woman are sentenced to between 10 and 12 years in prison at the Old BaileyOld BaileyThe Central Criminal Court in England and Wales, commonly known as the Old Bailey from the street in which it stands, is a court building in central London, one of a number of buildings housing the Crown Court...
. - 22 April - Middlesbrough reach the FA Cup final for the first time in their history by beating Chesterfield 3-0 in the semi-final replay.
- 23 April
- Denis ComptonDenis ComptonDenis Charles Scott Compton CBE was an English cricketer who played in 78 Test matches, and a footballer...
, the legendary cricketer and footballer, dies at the age of 78. - Manchester United's hopes of winning the European Cup are ended when they are eliminated from the semi-finals by GermanGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
champions Borussia DortmundBorussia DortmundBallspielverein Borussia Dortmund, commonly BVB, are a German sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. Dortmund are one of the most successful clubs in German football history. Borussia Dortmund play in the Bundesliga, the top league of German football...
.
- Denis Compton
- 28 April - Lord Taylor of GosforthPeter Taylor, Baron Taylor of GosforthPeter Murray Taylor, Baron Taylor of Gosforth PC was the Lord Chief Justice of England from 1992 until his premature retirement in 1996, due to poor health which led to his death the following year.-Family:...
, famous for the Taylor ReportTaylor ReportThe Hillsborough Stadium Disaster Inquiry report, better known as the Taylor Report is a document, whose development was overseen by Lord Taylor of Gosforth, concerning the aftermath and causes of the Hillsborough disaster in 1989. An interim report was published in August 1989, and the final...
into the Hillsborough disaster which resulted in all-seater stadiums being made compulsory in top division football, dies aged 66. - 2 May - Being the leader of the party holding a majority after the General Election, Tony BlairTony BlairAnthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
MP is appointed Prime Minister of the United KingdomPrime Minister of the United KingdomThe Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
by The Queen. - 3 May - Katrina and the WavesKatrina and the WavesKatrina and the Waves was an English pop rock band, best known for their 1985 hit "Walking on Sunshine" and their 1997 Eurovision Song Contest victory with the song "Love Shine a Light".-Pre-history: The Waves and Mama's Cookin' :...
win the Eurovision Song ContestEurovision Song Contest 1997The Eurovision Song Contest 1997, was the 42nd Eurovision Song Contest and it was held at the Point Theatre Dublin, Ireland, on 3 May 1997. Boyzone member Ronan Keating and Carrie Crowley were the presenters of the show....
with the song Love Shine a Light, the first time the UK has won the competition since 19811981 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1981 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch – HM Queen Elizabeth II*Prime Minister – Margaret Thatcher, Conservative-Events:* 5 January...
. - 4 May - Manchester United FC win the Premier League title for the fourth time in five seasons without kicking a ball, as their last remaining contenders Newcastle United FC and Liverpool FC fail to win their penultimate games of the season.
- 17 May - Chelsea FC beat Middlesbrough FC 2-0 in the FA CupFA CupThe Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
final at Wembley Stadium to win their first major trophy for 26 years, while it is a personal triumph for their 34-year-old Dutch player-manager Ruud GullitRuud GullitOON is a Dutch football manager and former football player, who played professionally in the 1980s and 1990s. He was the captain of the Netherlands national team that was victorious at Euro 88 and was also a member of the squad for the 1990 World Cup. He was named the European Footballer of the...
who becomes the first black manager and the first foreign manager to win a major trophy in England. - 18 May - The football world is stunned by the retirement of Manchester United captain Eric CantonaEric CantonaEric Daniel Pierre Cantona is a French actor and former French international footballer. He played for Auxerre, Martigues, Marseille, Bordeaux, Montpellier, Nîmes and Leeds United before ending his professional footballing career at Manchester United, where he won four Premier League titles in...
six days before his 31st birthday. - 29 May - HarrodsHarrodsHarrods is an upmarket department store located in Brompton Road in Brompton, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London. The Harrods brand also applies to other enterprises undertaken by the Harrods group of companies including Harrods Bank, Harrods Estates, Harrods Aviation and Air...
owner Mohammed Al Fayed buys Fulham F.C.Fulham F.C.Fulham Football Club is a professional English Premier League club based in southwest London Fulham, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. Founded in 1879, they play in the Premier League, their 11th current season...
, newly promoted to Division Two, for £30million. - 2 June - The Halifax Building Society floats on the London Stock Exchange. Over 7.5 million customers of the Society become shareholders of the new bank, the largest extension of shareholders in UK history.
- 12 June - Law lords declare that former Home SecretaryHome SecretaryThe Secretary of State for the Home Department, commonly known as the Home Secretary, is the minister in charge of the Home Office of the United Kingdom, and one of the country's four Great Offices of State...
, Michael HowardMichael HowardMichael Howard, Baron Howard of Lympne, CH, QC, PC is a British politician, who served as the Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition from November 2003 to December 2005...
, acted illegally in raising the minimum sentence of the Bulger killers Robert Thompson and Jon Venables to 15 years. They also strip the government of setting minimum terms for prisoners aged under 18 who had received life or indefinite prison sentences. - 19 June - McDonald's wins the "McLibel" libel case, the longest trial in English legal history, against two environmental campaigners.
- 20 June - Charlie Kray, 71-year-old brother of the Kray TwinsKray twinsReginald "Reggie" Kray and his twin brother Ronald "Ronnie" Kray were the foremost perpetrators of organised crime in London's East End during the 1950s and 1960s...
, is found guilty of planning a £39million cocaineCocaineCocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
smuggling deal. - 23 June - Charlie Kray is jailed for 12 years.
- 26 June - Home SecretaryHome SecretaryThe Secretary of State for the Home Department, commonly known as the Home Secretary, is the minister in charge of the Home Office of the United Kingdom, and one of the country's four Great Offices of State...
Jack StrawJack StrawJack Straw , British politician.Jack Straw may also refer to:* Jack Straw , English* "Jack Straw" , 1971 song by the Grateful Dead* Jack Straw by W...
launches a fresh inquiry into the Hillsborough disaster. - 27 June - Manchester United sign the England national football teamEngland national football teamThe England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...
striker Teddy SheringhamTeddy SheringhamEdward Paul "Teddy" Sheringham MBE is a retired English footballer, and the father of footballer Charlie Sheringham. Sheringham played as a striker, and had a successful career at the club level, winning almost every domestic honour available with his clubs, most notably the Treble with Manchester...
from Tottenham HotspurTottenham Hotspur F.C.Tottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane....
for £3.5million.http://www.red11.org/mufc/sheringa.htm - 29 July - Tracie AndrewsTracie AndrewsTracie Margurite Andrews is an English woman who murdered her fiancé, Lee Raymond Harvey on 1 December 1996.-Murder:...
is found guilty of murdering her fiancee Lee HarveyTracie AndrewsTracie Margurite Andrews is an English woman who murdered her fiancé, Lee Raymond Harvey on 1 December 1996.-Murder:...
, who was stabbed to death on a WorcestershireWorcestershireWorcestershire is a non-metropolitan county, established in antiquity, located in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire" NUTS 2 region...
country lane nearly eight months ago in what she claimed was a road rage attack. Andrews, 28, is sentenced to life imprisonment with a recommended minimum of 14 years. - 31 July - Less than three months after the Labour landslide, Labour loses the UxbridgeUxbridgeUxbridge is a large town located in north west London, England and is the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Hillingdon. It forms part of the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is located west-northwest of Charing Cross and is one of the major metropolitan centres...
by-election to the Conservatives.
- 3 August - Manchester United win the FA Charity ShieldFA Community ShieldThe Football Association Community Shield is English football's annual match contested between the champions of the previous Premier League season and the holders of the FA Cup at Wembley Stadium. If the Premier League champions also won the FA Cup then the league runners-up provide the opposition...
on penalties after drawing 1-1 with Chelsea at Wembley. - 18 August - An 11-year-old BedfordshireBedfordshireBedfordshire is a ceremonial county of historic origin in England that forms part of the East of England region.It borders Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Northamptonshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the west and Hertfordshire to the south-east....
boy is due to become Britain's youngest father, as his 15-year-old girlfriend is expecting a baby. - 2 September - 18-year-old West Ham United FC defender Rio FerdinandRio FerdinandRio Gavin Ferdinand is an English footballer. He plays at centre back for Manchester United in the Premier League and for the England national football team...
, the youngest current member of the England football team, is dropped from the squad after being found guilty on a drink-driving charge for which he receives a one-year ban from driving. - 6 September - The funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales takes place at Westminster AbbeyWestminster AbbeyThe Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, popularly known as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom, located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English,...
, London followed by a private burial at the estate of the Earls SpencerEarl SpencerEarl Spencer is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain that was created on 1 November 1765, along with the title Viscount Althorp, of Althorp in the County of Northamptonshire, for John Spencer, 1st Viscount Spencer, a great-grandson of the 1st Duke of Marlborough...
in AlthorpAlthorpAlthorp is a country estate of about and a stately home in Northamptonshire, England. It is about north-west of the county town of Northampton. The late Diana, Princess of Wales is buried in the estate.-History:...
, NorthamptonshireNorthamptonshireNorthamptonshire is a landlocked county in the English East Midlands, with a population of 629,676 as at the 2001 census. It has boundaries with the ceremonial counties of Warwickshire to the west, Leicestershire and Rutland to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshire to the south-east,...
. The Earl SpencerCharles Spencer, 9th Earl SpencerCharles Edward Maurice Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer, DL , styled Viscount Althorp between 1975 and 1992, is a British peer and brother of Diana, Princess of Wales...
, brother of Diana, attacks the Royal Family's treatment of Diana in his funeral eulogy. TV coverage of the funeral is hosted by both BBC 1 and ITVITVITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
, attracting an audience of more than 32,000,000 which falls just short of the national TV audience record set by the England national football teamEngland national football teamThe England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...
's victorious World Cup1966 FIFA World CupThe 1966 FIFA World Cup, the eighth staging of the World Cup, was held in England from 11 July to 30 July. England beat West Germany 4–2 in the final, winning the World Cup for the first time, so becoming the first host to win the tournament since Italy in 1934.-Host selection:England was chosen as...
final in 1966. - 10 September - The England football team beat MoldovaMoldova national football teamThe Moldova national football team represents Moldova in association football and is controlled by the Football Association of Moldova, the governing body for football in Moldova. Moldova's home ground is Zimbru Stadium in Chişinău and their head coach is Gavril Balint...
4-0 in their penultimate World Cup qualifying game at Wembley. They only need a draw against ItalyItaly national football teamThe Italy National Football Team , represents Italy in association football and is controlled by the Italian Football Federation , the governing body for football in Italy. Italy is the second most successful national team in the history of the World Cup having won four titles , just one fewer than...
in RomeRomeRome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
next month to qualify automatically. - 13 September - Release of Elton JohnElton JohnSir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...
's Candle in the WindCandle in the Wind 1997"Candle in the Wind 1997" is a rewritten and rerecorded version of Elton John's own 1973 hit "Candle in the Wind" that was released as a tribute single to the late Diana, Princess of Wales....
remade as a tribute to Diana, Princess of Wales. This will be the second best-selling singleSingle (music)In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
worldwide of all time.
- 19 September - Southall rail crashSouthall rail crashThe Southall rail crash was an accident on the British railway system that occurred on 19 September 1997, on the Great Western Main Line at Southall, west London. Seven people were killed and 139 injured...
: passenger train collides with a freight train at SouthallSouthallSouthall is a large suburban district of west London, England, and part of the London Borough of Ealing. It is situated west of Charing Cross. Neighbouring places include Yeading, Hayes, Hanwell, Heston, Hounslow, Greenford and Northolt...
, West LondonWest (London sub region)The West is a sub-region of the London Plan corresponding to the London Boroughs of Brent, Ealing, Hammersmith and Fulham, Harrow, Hillingdon and Hounslow. The sub region was established in 2004 and was adjusted in 2008 to include Kensington and Chelsea. The west has a population of 1.6 million and...
killing six people. - 25 September - Eight months after leaving Newcastle United, Kevin Keegan returns to football as a director of football at Division Two club Fulham. The former EnglandEngland national football teamThe England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...
midfielder Ray WilkinsRay WilkinsRaymond Colin Wilkins MBE , often known as "Butch" Wilkins, is an English former footballer and at present a television pundit...
is appointed team manager. Chairman Mohammed Al Fayed is targeting Premier League football for the West London club by 2002. - 1 October - The final LTI FX4 London cab is produced after 39 years.
- 11 October - England qualify for the Football World Cup with a 0-0 draw against Italy in Rome.
- 15 October - Andy GreenAndy GreenWing Commander Andy D. Green OBE BA RAF is a British Royal Air Force pilot and World Land Speed Record holder.-RAF career:...
driving the ThrustSSCThrustSSCThrustSSC, also spelt Thrust SSC by secondary sources, is a British jet-propelled car developed by Richard Noble, Glynne Bowsher, Ron Ayers and Jeremy Bliss....
sets a new land speed record of 763.035 mph (1227.99 km/h), the first time the sound barrierSound barrierThe sound barrier, in aerodynamics, is the point at which an aircraft moves from transonic to supersonic speed. The term, which occasionally has other meanings, came into use during World War II, when a number of aircraft started to encounter the effects of compressibility, a collection of several...
is broken on land. - 20 October - Michael Stone, 37, is charged with the murder of Lin Russell and her six-year-old daughter Megan, who were found bludgeoned to death in ChillendenChillendenChillenden is a village in East Kent, England, between Canterbury and Deal. It was home to the families of Thomas Chillenden and William Chillenden, as indicated by their surnames....
, KentKentKent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
, 15 months ago. He is also charged with the attempted murder of Mrs Russell's other daughter Josie, who was nine at the time. - 24 October - WPC Nina Mackay, 25, is stabbed to death in Stratford, LondonStratford, LondonStratford is a place in the London Borough of Newham, England. It is located east northeast of Charing Cross and is one of the major centres identified in the London Plan. It was historically an agrarian settlement in the ancient parish of West Ham, which transformed into an industrial suburb...
, when entering a flat to arrest a SomaliSomaliaSomalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...
asylum seeker who was due to be deported. - 29 October - Lawrence DallaglioLawrence DallaglioLorenzo Bruno Nero "Lawrence" Dallaglio, OBE is a retired English rugby union player and former captain of the English national team. He played as a flanker or number eight for London Wasps and never played for another club, having arrived at Sudbury as a teenager...
is appointed captain of the England rugby team. - 31 October - Au pair Louise WoodwardLouise WoodwardThe Louise Woodward case concerned a young English au pair convicted, at age 19, of the 1997 involuntary manslaughter of eight-month-old Matthew Eappen while he was in her care in his home in Newton, Massachusetts, in the United States...
found guilty of the second degree murder of an eight-month-old child in her care in the US. She is jailed for life with a minimum of 20 years. - 10 November - Louise Woodward's second degree murder conviction is reduced to manslaughter on appeal, and her life sentence is replaced by one of 279 days - the amount of time she had already spent in custody on remand. She is released from prison.
- 12 November - Brazil's Supreme Court refuses to extradite the Great Train RobberGreat Train Robbery (1963)The Great Train Robbery is the name given to a £2.6 million train robbery committed on 8 August 1963 at Bridego Railway Bridge, Ledburn near Mentmore in Buckinghamshire, England. The bulk of the stolen money was not recovered...
Ronnie BiggsRonnie BiggsRonald Arthur "Ronnie" Biggs is an English criminal, known for his role in the Great Train Robbery of 1963, for his escape from prison in 1965, for living as a fugitive for 36 years and for his various publicity stunts while in exile. In 2001, he voluntarily returned to the United Kingdom and...
to Britain. - 18 November - Tottenham Hotspur, the struggling Premier League club, appoint SwissSwitzerlandSwitzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
coach Christian GrossChristian GrossChristian Gross is a professional football coach and former player who currently manages Young Boys Bern. Before that he managed VfB Stuttgart until his dismissal in October 2010. He was manager of FC Basel from 1 July 1999 to 27 May 2009.-Playing career:Gross began his playing career at...
as their new manager. - 24 November - The British LibraryBritish LibraryThe British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom, and is the world's largest library in terms of total number of items. The library is a major research library, holding over 150 million items from every country in the world, in virtually all known languages and in many formats,...
opens its first public reading room at its new London site on the Euston RoadEuston RoadEuston Road is an important thoroughfare in central London, England, and forms part of the A501. It is part of the New Road from Paddington to Islington, and was opened as part of the New Road in 1756...
. - 5 December - Chester man John O'Shaughnessy, 31, is jailed for lifeLife imprisonmentLife imprisonment is a sentence of imprisonment for a serious crime under which the convicted person is to remain in jail for the rest of his or her life...
after admitting the rape and murder of nine-year-old Kayleigh Ward in the BlaconBlaconBlacon is a large suburb near Chester, in Cheshire, England, containing a mixture of private homes and substantial public council-built properties...
area of the city 12 months ago. The trial judge recommends that he should serve at least 30 years before being considered for parole.http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/37209.stm - 10 December - John E. WalkerJohn E. WalkerProfessor Sir John Ernest Walker is an English chemist who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1997. He is currently the director of the MRC Mitochondrial Biology Unit in Cambridge, and a Fellow of Sidney Sussex College.He was born in Halifax, Yorkshire, the son of Thomas Ernest Walker, a...
wins the Nobel Prize in ChemistryNobel Prize in ChemistryThe Nobel Prize in Chemistry is awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences to scientists in the various fields of chemistry. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895, awarded for outstanding contributions in chemistry, physics, literature,...
jointly with Paul D. BoyerPaul D. Boyer- External links :* , from the Office of Scientific and Technical Information, United States Department of Energy* * *...
"for their elucidation of the enzymatic mechanism underlying the synthesis of adenosine triphosphate (ATP)". - 19 December
- William HagueWilliam HagueWilliam Jefferson Hague is the British Foreign Secretary and First Secretary of State. He served as Leader of the Conservative Party from June 1997 to September 2001...
marries Ffion Jenkins. - Moors murdererMoors murdersThe Moors murders were carried out by Ian Brady and Myra Hindley between July 1963 and October 1965, in and around what is now Greater Manchester, England. The victims were five children aged between 10 and 17—Pauline Reade, John Kilbride, Keith Bennett, Lesley Ann Downey and Edward Evans—at least...
Myra Hindley loses a High CourtHigh Court of JusticeThe High Court of Justice is, together with the Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, one of the Senior Courts of England and Wales...
appeal against the whole life tariffWhole life tariffThis is a list of prisoners who have received a whole life tariff through some mechanism in jurisdictions of the United Kingdom.Eight of these prisoners have since died in prison, while three of them have had their sentences reduced on appeal, meaning that there are currently at least 48 prisoners...
which was imposed on her by Home SecretaryHome SecretaryThe Secretary of State for the Home Department, commonly known as the Home Secretary, is the minister in charge of the Home Office of the United Kingdom, and one of the country's four Great Offices of State...
David WaddingtonDavid Waddington, Baron WaddingtonDavid Charles Waddington, Baron Waddington, GCVO, DL, QC, PC , is a British politician. A member of the Conservative Party, he served as a Member of Parliament in the House of Commons from 1968 to 1990, and was then made a life peer...
in 1990 and later confirmed by Waddington's successor Michael HowardMichael HowardMichael Howard, Baron Howard of Lympne, CH, QC, PC is a British politician, who served as the Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition from November 2003 to December 2005...
.
- William Hague
- 22 December
- Twelve people are arrested during protests by disabled people outside Downing Street.
- GermanGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
striker Jurgen KlinsmannJürgen KlinsmannJürgen Klinsmann is a German football manager and former player who is currently the coach of the United States Men's National Team. As a player, Klinsmann played for several prominent clubs in Europe and was part of the West German team that won the 1990 FIFA World Cup and the German one that...
, who spent the 1994-95 season1994-95 in English football-Premiership:Blackburn Rovers ended their 81-year wait for the league title thanks to the strike partnership of Alan Shearer and Chris Sutton which scored a total of more than 50 league goals. Manchester United would have made it three league titles in a row if they had been able to turn a 1-1 draw...
at Tottenham Hotspur, returns to the club in a £175,000 move from Sampdoria of ItalyItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
as new manager Christian Gross attempts to drag the North LondonNorth LondonNorth London is the northern part of London, England. It is an imprecise description and the area it covers is defined differently for a range of purposes. Common to these definitions is that it includes districts located north of the River Thames and is used in comparison with South...
side clear of relegation trouble.
- 24 December - Will Straw, son of Cabinet minister Jack StrawJack Straw (politician)John Whitaker Straw is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Blackburn since 1979. He served as Home Secretary from 1997 to 2001, Foreign Secretary from 2001 to 2006 and Lord Privy Seal and Leader of the House of Commons from 2006 to 2007 under Tony Blair...
, is arrested on suspicion of supplying cannabisCannabisCannabis is a genus of flowering plants that includes three putative species, Cannabis sativa, Cannabis indica, and Cannabis ruderalis. These three taxa are indigenous to Central Asia, and South Asia. Cannabis has long been used for fibre , for seed and seed oils, for medicinal purposes, and as a...
. - 31 December - Singer Elton JohnElton JohnSir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...
and football legend Tom FinneyTom FinneySir Thomas Finney, OBE is a former English footballer, famous for his loyalty to his league club, Preston North End, and for his performances in the English national side....
among the men receiving knighthoods in the New Year's Honours List.