2003 in England
Encyclopedia
 2003 in England |
| Years |
| 2001 2001 in England Events from 2001 in England-Incumbents:*Monarch - Queen Elizabeth II *Prime Minister - Tony Blair-Events:* 5 January - A report by the Department of Health suggests that Dr Harold Shipman may have killed more than 300 patients since the 1970s.* 8 January - The High Court rules that the identities... | 2002 2002 in England Events from 2002 in England-Incumbents:*Monarch - Queen Elizabeth II *Prime Minister - Tony Blair-Events:* 15 February - Funeral of Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon takes place at St... | 2003 | 2004 2004 in England Events from 2004 in England-Incumbents:*Monarch - Queen Elizabeth II *Prime Minister - Tony Blair-January:* 13 January - Serial killer Dr... | 2005 2005 in England Events from 2005 in England-Incumbents:*Monarch - Queen Elizabeth II *Prime Minister - Tony Blair-January:* 5 January - Funeral of Angus Ogilvy, husband of Princess Alexandra, takes place at St... |
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| See also |
| 2002-03 in English football 2002-03 in English football The 2002-03 season was the 123rd season of competitive football in England.-Most Memorable rise:*Wigan Athletic marked their 25th season of Football League membership by winning the Division Two championship and reaching the league's second tier for the very first time.-Most Memorable... |
| 2003-04 in English football 2003-04 in English football The 2003-04 season was the 124th season of competitive football in England.-Overview:Arsenal completed the entire campaign without losing a single league game.... |
Events from 2003 in England
Incumbents
- Monarch - Queen Elizabeth II (since 6 February 1952)
- Prime Minister - 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...
Events
- 10 January - Ian Carr, a 27-year-old banned driver with a total of 89 previous convictions (including causing death by dangerous driving), admits causing the death by dangerous driving of a six-year-old girl in AshingtonAshingtonAshington is a town and civil parish in Northumberland, England with a population of around 27,000 people; it was once a centre of the coal mining industry. The town is located some north of Newcastle upon Tyne off the A189. The south of the town is bordered by the River Wansbeck...
, NorthumberlandNorthumberlandNorthumberland is the northernmost ceremonial county and a unitary district in North East England. For Eurostat purposes Northumberland is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "Northumberland and Tyne and Wear" NUTS 2 region...
- a crime which sparks widespread public and media outrage across Britain.http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/2646033.stm - 25 January - Central LineCentral LineThe Central line is a London Underground line, coloured red on the tube map. It is a deep-level "tube" line, running east-west across London, and, at , has the greatest total length of track of any line on the Underground. Of the 49 stations served, 20 are below ground...
underground trainLondon 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...
crashes into the tunnel wall at Chancery Lane tube stationChancery Lane tube stationChancery Lane is a London Underground station in central London. It is on the Central Line between St. Paul's and Holborn stations. The station is located at the junction of High Holborn, Hatton Garden and Gray's Inn Road with subway entrances giving access to the ticket office under the roadway...
in London, injuring 34 people. - 29 January - Sally ClarkSally ClarkSally Clark was a British solicitor who became the victim of an infamous miscarriage of justice when she was wrongly convicted of the murder of two of her sons in 1999...
, a 38-year-old former solicitor from 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 released from prison after the Court of Appeal clears her of murdering her two sons, who are believed to have died of Cot Death. - 31 January - One of the longest prison sentences ever issued in a British court for a motoring offence is handed down on killer driver Ian Carr, who received a nine-and-a-half year sentence for causing death by dangerous driving - his second conviction for the crime in 12 years.http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/driver-who-killed-girl-after-life-ban-is-jailed-for-nine-years-596283.html
- 15 February - In London, more than 2 million people demonstrate against the Iraq War, the largest demonstration in British history.
- 17 February - The London congestion chargeLondon congestion chargeThe London congestion charge is a fee charged for some categories of motor vehicle to travel at certain times within the Congestion Charge Zone , a traffic area in London. The charge aims to reduce congestion, and raise investment funds for London's transport system...
, a fee levied on motorists travelling within designated parts of central London, comes into operation. - 27 February - Rowan WilliamsRowan WilliamsRowan Douglas Williams FRSL, FBA, FLSW is an Anglican bishop, poet and theologian. He is the 104th and current Archbishop of Canterbury, Metropolitan of the Province of Canterbury and Primate of All England, offices he has held since early 2003.Williams was previously Bishop of Monmouth and...
enthroned as Archbishop of CanterburyArchbishop of CanterburyThe Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...
. - 28 May - The UEFA Champions LeagueUEFA Champions LeagueThe UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
Final at Old TraffordOld TraffordOld Trafford commonly refers to two sporting arenas:* Old Trafford, home of Manchester United F.C.* Old Trafford Cricket Ground, home of Lancashire County Cricket ClubOld Trafford can also refer to:...
(home to Manchester UnitedManchester United F.C.Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
) with Juventus beating AC Milan in a penalty shootout following a goalless draw. - 10 June - Soham MurdersSoham murdersThe Soham murders was an English murder case in 2002 of two 10-year-old girls in the village of Soham, Cambridgeshire.The victims were Holly Marie Wells and Jessica Aimee Chapman...
suspect Ian Huntley returns to Woodhill Prison after being treated for the effects of an overdose yesterday. - 13 June - First Minister for ChildrenMinister for ChildrenThe Minister of State for Children, Young People and Families is a Minister of State for Department for Children, Schools and Families in the Government of the United Kingdom. Beverley Hughes held the position from 2006 until May 2010.-History:...
appointed, Margaret HodgeMargaret HodgeMargaret Hodge MBE MP, also known as Lady Hodge by virtue of her husband's knighthood, is a British Labour politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for Barking since 1994. She was the first Minister for Children in 2003 and was Minister of State for Culture and Tourism at the Department...
. - 15 June - The News of the WorldNews of the WorldThe News of the World was a national red top newspaper published in the United Kingdom from 1843 to 2011. It was at one time the biggest selling English language newspaper in the world, and at closure still had one of the highest English language circulations...
publishes an article in which Ian Huntley is photographed in his cell at Woodhill Prison. An undercover reporter had got a job in the prison and was being employed as Huntley's guard. - 2 July - Chelsea F.C.Chelsea F.C.Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...
are bought by RussiaRussiaRussia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n billionaire Roman AbramovichRoman AbramovichRoman Arkadyevich Abramovich is a Russian businessman and the main owner of the private investment company Millhouse LLC.In 2003, Abramovich was named Person of the Year by Expert, a Russian business magazine. He shared this title with Mikhail Khodorkovsky...
for £150million from current chairman Ken BatesKen BatesKenneth William Bates is a British businessman and football executive. The current chairman and now owner of Leeds United AFC, Bates was previously chairman and majority shareholder of Chelsea FC from 1982 until 2003....
, 21 years after he bought the club for £1. - 10 August - BrogdaleBrogdaleBrogdale is a hamlet in Kent, England, located beside the M2 motorway south of Faversham. It is one of several hamlets making up the civil parish of Ospringe and is in the Borough of Swale....
enters the UK Weather RecordsUK Weather RecordsThe UK Weather Records note the most extreme weather ever recorded in the United Kingdom, such as the most and fewest hours of sunshine and highest wind speed.-Temperature:-Rainfall:...
for the highest ever recorded temperature of 38.5°C. The 2003 European heat wave2003 European heat waveThe 2003 European heat wave was the hottest summer on record in Europe since at least 1540. France was hit especially hard. The heat wave led to health crises in several countries and combined with drought to create a crop shortfall in Southern Europe...
makes this Britain's hottest summer for 13 years. - 4 September - The Bullring Shopping Centre in 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...
is officially opened by Sir Albert Bore. - 18 September - Brent East by-electionBrent East by-election, 2003The Brent East by-election, 2003 was caused by the death on 18 June 2003 of the Member of Parliament for the constituency of Brent East, Paul Daisley, of the Labour Party....
: Sarah TeatherSarah TeatherSarah Louise Teather is a British Liberal Democrat politician, Member of Parliament for Brent Central, Minister of State at the Department for Education, and Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Guantanamo Bay....
of the Liberal DemocratsLiberal DemocratsThe Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...
becomes MP for Brent EastBrent EastBrent East was a parliamentary constituency in northwest London; it was replaced by Brent Central for the 2010 general election. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post system.- Boundaries :The...
after 29 years of LabourLabour 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...
control. - 29 October - Iain Duncan-Smith resigns after just over two years as leader of 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...
. - 8 November - Sophie, Countess of Wessex gives birth to her and Prince EdwardPrince Edward, Earl of WessexPrince Edward, Earl of Wessex KG GCVO is the third son and fourth child of Elizabeth II and The Duke of Edinburgh...
's first child, a baby girl. - 16 November - David DavisDavid DavisDavid Davis may refer to:*David Davis , Liberal member of the Victorian Legislative Council*David Davis , British Conservative Member of Parliament, Conservative leadership candidate in 2001 and 2005*David Davis , head of the BBC's Children's Hour*David Davis ,...
, the new Shadow Home Secretary, calls for a return of the death penalty for murderers found guilty of the most horrific murders; citing 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...
Ian Brady and Yorkshire Ripper Peter SutcliffePeter SutcliffePeter William Sutcliffe is a British serial killer who was dubbed "The Yorkshire Ripper". In 1981 Sutcliffe was convicted of murdering 13 women and attacking seven others. He is currently serving 20 sentences of life imprisonment in Broadmoor Hospital...
as criminals whose crimes would meet the criteria. - 18 November - Passage of the Local Government Act 2003Local Government Act 2003The Local Government Act 2003 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It made various changes to the administration of local government in the United Kingdom...
including the repeal in England, Northern Ireland and Wales of controversial Section 28Section 28Section 28 of the Local Government Act 1988 caused the controversial addition of Section 2A to the Local Government Act 1986 , enacted on 24 May 1988 and repealed on 21 June 2000 in Scotland, and on 18 November 2003 in the rest of Great Britain by section 122 of the Local Government Act 2003...
of the Local Government Act 1988Local Government Act 1988The United Kingdom Local Government Act of 1988 was famous for introducing the controversial Section 28 into law. In terms of the section 28 of the Local Government Act 1988, Local Authorities were prohibited from promoting in specified category of schools, "the teaching of the acceptability of...
which prevented local authorities from "promoting homosexuality". Section 28 had already been repealed in Scotland in 2000. - 22 November - EnglandEngland national rugby team-Rugby union:* England national rugby union team, administered by the Rugby Football Union** England national rugby union team compete in the World Sevens Series-Rugby league:...
are rugby world championsRugby World CupThe Rugby World Cup is an international rugby union competition organised by the International Rugby Board and held every four years since 1987....
after defeating Australia 20-17 after extra time. - 26 November - The final Concorde to fly touches down for the last time in Filton, Bristol where it was welcomed by the Duke of YorkDuke of YorkThe Duke of York is a title of nobility in the British peerage. Since the 15th century, it has, when granted, usually been given to the second son of the British monarch. The title has been created a remarkable eleven times, eight as "Duke of York" and three as the double-barreled "Duke of York and...
- 9 December - The M6 TollM6 TollThe M6 Toll , connects M6 Junction 4 at the NEC to M6 Junction 11A at Wolverhampton with of six-lane motorway. The weekday cash cost is £5.30 for a car and £10.60 for a HGV...
motorway opens, giving the United Kingdom its first toll motorway and providing a northern by-pass for the congested section of the M6 motorwayM6 motorwayThe M6 motorway runs from junction 19 of the M1 at the Catthorpe Interchange, near Rugby via Birmingham then heads north, passing Stoke-on-Trent, Manchester, Preston, Carlisle and terminating at the Gretna junction . Here, just short of the Scottish border it becomes the A74 which continues to...
through the West Midlands conurbationWest Midlands conurbationThe West Midlands conurbation is the name given to the large conurbation that includes the cities of Birmingham and Wolverhampton and the large towns of Dudley, Walsall, West Bromwich, Solihull, Stourbridge, Halesowen in the English West Midlands....
. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/staffordshire/3298789.stm - 10 December
- Anthony J. Leggett wins the Nobel Prize in PhysicsNobel Prize in PhysicsThe Nobel Prize in Physics is awarded once a year by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895 and awarded since 1901; the others are the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Peace Prize, and...
jointly with Alexei Alexeyevich AbrikosovAlexei Alexeyevich AbrikosovAlexei Alexeyevich Abrikosov is a Soviet and Russian theoretical physicist whose main contributions are in the field of condensed matter physics. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2003.- Biography :...
and Vitaly GinzburgVitaly GinzburgVitaly Lazarevich Ginzburg ForMemRS was a Soviet theoretical physicist, astrophysicist, Nobel laureate, a member of the Russian Academy of Sciences and one of the fathers of Soviet hydrogen bomb...
"for pioneering contributions to the theory of superconductors and superfluids". - Peter MansfieldPeter MansfieldSir Peter Mansfield, FRS, , is a British physicist who was awarded the 2003 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his discoveries concerning magnetic resonance imaging . The Nobel Prize was shared with Paul Lauterbur, who also contributed to the development of MRI...
wins the Nobel Prize in Physiology or MedicineNobel Prize in Physiology or MedicineThe Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine administered by the Nobel Foundation, is awarded once a year for outstanding discoveries in the field of life science and medicine. It is one of five Nobel Prizes established in 1895 by Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, in his will...
jointly with Paul LauterburPaul LauterburPaul Christian Lauterbur was an American chemist who shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2003 with Peter Mansfield for his work which made the development of magnetic resonance imaging possible.Dr...
"for their discoveries concerning magnetic resonance imagingMagnetic resonance imagingMagnetic resonance imaging , nuclear magnetic resonance imaging , or magnetic resonance tomography is a medical imaging technique used in radiology to visualize detailed internal structures...
". - The Court of Appeal overturns two murder convictions against 40-year-old 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...
woman Angela CanningsAngela CanningsAngela Cannings was wrongfully convicted in the UK in 2002 of the murder of her seven-week-old son, Jason, who died in 1991, and of her 18-week-old son Matthew, who died in 1999...
, who was wrongly convicted of murdering her two baby sons in April last year. Mrs Cannings, who has a surviving daughter, always maintained that her sons were both Cot Death victims.
- Anthony J. Leggett wins the Nobel Prize in Physics
- 12 December - Mick JaggerMick JaggerSir Michael Philip "Mick" Jagger is an English musician, singer and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist and a founding member of The Rolling Stones....
of The Rolling StonesThe Rolling StonesThe Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
receives a knighthood from Charles, Prince of WalesCharles, Prince of WalesPrince Charles, Prince of Wales is the heir apparent and eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Since 1958 his major title has been His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales. In Scotland he is additionally known as The Duke of Rothesay...
. - 16 December - The Government announces plans to build a new runway at Stansted AirportLondon Stansted Airport-Cargo:-Statistics:-Infrastructure:-Terminal and satellite buildings:Stansted is the newest passenger airport of all the main London airports. The terminal is an oblong glass building, and is separated in to three areas: Check-in concourse, arrivals and departures...
in EssexEssexEssex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
and a short-haul runway at Heathrow Airport sparking anger from environmental groups. - 17 December
- Ian Huntley is found guilty of the Soham MurdersSoham murdersThe Soham murders was an English murder case in 2002 of two 10-year-old girls in the village of Soham, Cambridgeshire.The victims were Holly Marie Wells and Jessica Aimee Chapman...
and sentenced to life imprisonment 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...
. 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...
judge will later decide on the minimum number of the years that he will have to serve before being considered for parole. His ex-girlfriend Maxine Carr is found guilty of perverting the course of justice and receives a jail term of three-and-a-half years, but she will be freed on licence (under a new identity to protect her from reprisal attacks) in May 2004 as she has already served 16 months on remand. - 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 BlunkettDavid BlunkettDavid Blunkett is a British Labour Party politician and the Member of Parliament for Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough, having represented Sheffield Brightside from 1987 to 2010...
orders an inquiryInquiryAn inquiry is any process that has the aim of augmenting knowledge, resolving doubt, or solving a problem. A theory of inquiry is an account of the various types of inquiry and a treatment of the ways that each type of inquiry achieves its aim.-Deduction:...
into how the police vetting system failed to prevent Ian Huntley from getting a job in a school, after it was revealed at the end of his murder trial that he had been suspected in the past of crimes including underage sex, rapeRapeRape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
, indecent assaultIndecent assaultIndecent assault is an offence of aggravated assault in many jurisdictions. It is characterised as a sex crime.Indecent assault was an offence in England and Wales under sections 14 and 15 the Sexual Offences Act 1956...
and burglaryBurglaryBurglary is a crime, the essence of which is illicit entry into a building for the purposes of committing an offense. Usually that offense will be theft, but most jurisdictions specify others which fall within the ambit of burglary...
.
- Ian Huntley is found guilty of the Soham Murders
- 26 December - A policeman dies and two others are injured after being shot by a man they were questioning about a suspicious BMWBMWBayerische Motoren Werke AG is a German automobile, motorcycle and engine manufacturing company founded in 1916. It also owns and produces the Mini marque, and is the parent company of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. BMW produces motorcycles under BMW Motorrad and Husqvarna brands...
car in 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...
, West YorkshireWest YorkshireWest Yorkshire is a metropolitan county within the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England with a population of 2.2 million. West Yorkshire came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....
. - 31 December - David BieberDavid BieberDavid Francis Bieber also known under the alias Nathan Wayne Coleman is an American convicted murderer. A fugitive from the United States, he murdered PC Ian Broadhurst and attempted to murder PCs Neil Roper and James Banks on 26 December 2003 in Leeds, England, sparking a nationwide search...
, a 37-year-old former American marine, is arrested on suspicion of the Boxing Day police shootings in Leeds.