February 2006 in Britain and Ireland

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Events in Britain and Ireland

"This page deals with events in the English-speaking places of Europe. These are England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, the Isle of Man, Jersey, Guernsey and Gibraltar."

28 February 2006 (Tuesday)

* The High Court of England and Wales grants the Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, an order that delays a four-week suspension from his post ordered by an administrative tribunal last week. [http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/NewsArticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2006-02-28T155759Z_01_L28787897_RTRUKOC_0_UK-BRITAIN-MAYOR.xml (Reuters)]

27 February 2006 (Monday)

*Women and Work Commission, a Government appointed commission reports that the gap between men's and women's pay in the United Kingdom is the greatest in Europe [http://www.guardian.co.uk/gender/story/0,,1718959,00.html (Guardian)] .
*Writers Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh sue Random House in the High Court of Justice claiming that the best selling novel "The Da Vinci Code" by Dan Brown contains ideas stolen from their 1982 book "The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail " [http://books.guardian.co.uk/news/articles/0,,1719084,00.html (Guardian)] .
* Securitas depot robbery: British police announce that the total amount of cash stolen in last Wednesday's Securitas depot robbery was GBP £53 million (USD $92.6 million, €77.8 million). Five more people have been arrested in the last 24 hours and 10 properties searched in the ongoing investigation. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/kent/4756454.stm (BBC)]

25 February 2006 (Saturday)

* Riots occur in Dublin in the lead up to the Love Ulster parade. Six officers, seven protesters and a journalist are hospitalized, mostly with head wounds. [http://breakingnews.iol.ie/news/story.asp?j=173985228&p=y73985934&n=173985988 (IOL)] [http://www.rte.ie/news/2006/0225/loyalist.html (RTE)] [http://dailyireland.televisual.co.uk/home.tvt?_scope=DailyIreland/Content/News&id=24575&opp=1 (Daily Ireland)]

24 February 2006 (Friday)

*Securitas depot robbery: a third person is arrested by police, this time a 41-year-old woman, who was arrested in Bromley. Money from the raid is recovered from a white Ford Transit van found in the car park of Ashford International railway station. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/kent/4745856.stm (BBC)] , [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/kent/4748996.stm (BBC)] .
*Mayor of London Ken Livingstone is found guilty of "bringing his office into disrepute" by the Adjudication Panel for England. He is suspended from office for four weeks from 1 March. [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/02/24/uken.xml&sSheet=/portal/2006/02/24/ixportaltop.html (Telegraph)] , [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/4746016.stm (BBC)] .

23 February 2006 (Thursday)

*Securitas depot robbery: police apprehend two suspects in Forest Hill, South London - a man aged 29 and a woman aged 31 in connection with the armed robbery [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/kent/4745210.stm (BBC)] .

22 February 2006 (Wednesday)

*Prince Charles's court case continues in the High Court against "The Mail on Sunday" as he tries to prevent the publication of his journals. Various revelations have been made such as that he considers himself to be a dissident, and his opinion of government officials in People's Republic of China whom he described as "appalling old waxworks" [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/4738368.stm (BBC)] .

21 February 2006 (Tuesday)

*FA Cup Final will not be held at Wembley Stadium as it its rebuilding will not be completed on schedule [http://football.guardian.co.uk/News_Story/0,,1714298,00.html (Guardian)] .
*British tennis player Andy Murray wins his first major tournament at the ATP Tour [http://telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/02/21/nmurray21.xml&sSheet=/news/2006/02/21/ixnewstop.html (Telegraph)] .
*Enron: The High Court in London rules that three bankers may be extradited to the United States to face trial on Enron-related charges. The three, David Bermingham, Gary Mulgrew and Giles Darby, former executives at Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC unit Greenwich NatWest, had argued unsuccessfully that since the majority of the alleged offenses took place in Britain, any trial should be held in that country. [http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/special/enron/3674015.html (Houston Chronicle)]
*Securitas depot robbery: Armed robbers steal at least £25 million from the Securitas depot in Tonbridge, Kent [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/kent/4742064.stm (BBC)]

20 February 2006 (Monday)

*British historian David Irving goes on trial in Austria charged with Holocaust denial (a criminal offence in Austria) [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4730832.stm (BBC)] and after pleading guilty is sentenced to three years in jail [http://www.guardian.co.uk/farright/story/0,,1714403,00.html (Guardian)] .
*The Tower of London has moved its ravens indoors following fears of avian influenza [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/4734402.stm BBC]

19 February 2006 (Sunday)

*The Orange BAFTA awards take place; Brokeback Mountain wins best film and best director, wins best British movie [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/4724066.stm (BBC)]

17 February 2006 (Friday)

*Centrica announces that it will be raising gas and electricity prices to domestic customers by 22% from 1 March. 17 million British Gas customers will be affected by this increase. Scottish Power and EDF Energy have also announced price increases in recent days. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4723648.stm (BBC)] .
*A operators of a Scottish factory where nine people were killed in 2004 will be charged under Health and Safety legislation [http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2006-02-17T101105Z_01_L17721340_RTRUKOC_0_UK-CRIME-BRITAIN-FACTORY.xml (Reuters)] .
*Professor Roy Meadow wins an appeal in the High Court against his striking-off by the General Medical Council [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4720334.stm (BBC)] .

16 February 2006 (Thursday)

*Shelley Rudman wins a Silver Medal in bob skeleton for the Great Britain and Northern Ireland team at the 2006 Winter Olympics [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/other_sports/winter_sports/4722536.stm (BBC)] .
*House of Lords to vote on proposed offence of "glorification of terrorism" after House of Commons overturned their amendment [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/4718658.stm (BBC)] .
*Elton John accepts libel damages from "The Times" newspapers over allegations about his behaviour at a charity ball [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/4718658.stm (BBC)] .
*Leeds band "Kaiser Chiefs" wins "Best British Group" at the BRIT Awards [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/02/16/nbrits16.xml&sSheet=/portal/2006/02/16/ixportaltop.html (Telegraph)] .

15 February 2006 (Wednesday)

*MPs to vote on anti-terrorism legislation as Government tries to reverse House of Lords amendments which remove a proposed offence of "glorification of terrorism" [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/4714578.stm (BBC)] .
*An internet campaign is started protesting over the dominance of the supermarket Tesco in retail market [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml;jsessionid=SLLGIMLYJOBO5QFIQMGCFFWAVCBQUIV0?xml=/news/2006/02/15/ntesco15.xml&sSheet=/news/2006/02/15/ixnewstop.html (Telegraph)]
*Welsh Rugby coach Mike Ruddock resigns 11 months after Grand Slam triumph [http://www.planet-rugby.com/Teams/Wales/story_49032.shtml (Planet Rugby)] .

14 February 2006 (Tuesday)

*British Government survives backbench rebellion in vote on proposed Identity Card legislation [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/4711178.stm (BBC)] .
*A policewoman is shot and is in intensive care after investigating a burglary in Nottingham [http://www.guardian.co.uk/gun/Story/0,,1709438,00.html (Guardian)] .
*Approval is given by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority for British women to donate eggs purely for genetic research into treatments such as Parkinson's Disease [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-2039192,00.html (Times)] .
*UK parliament votes on proposed anti-smoking legislation, with MPs being given a free vote on whether to move to an outright ban, or a compromise allowing smoking in private members' clubs and pubs that do not serve food [http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/article345304.ece (Independent)] .

13 February 2006 (Monday)

*Tony Blair misses a crucial House of Commons vote on proposed Identity Card legislation after a delay returning from a summit in Pretoria [http://www.guardian.co.uk/idcards/story/0,,1708618,00.html (Guardian)]
*Post Office staff to stage a 24 hour strike over plans by the Royal Mail to close branches [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/4706072.stm (BBC)] .
*Medical equipment is being stolen from National Health Service hospitals by criminal gangs and sold on the black market [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/02/13/uhospital.xml&sSheet=/portal/2006/02/13/ixportaltop.html (Telegraph)] .

12 February 2006 (Sunday)

* A British tabloid, the News of the World, releases a video showing which they claim shows British troops beating captured Iraqi youth protesters. The newspaper is satisfied with the authenticity of the video, which the Ministry of Defence is investigating. [http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/story_pages/news/news1.shtml (News of the World)] [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/4705482.stm (BBC)] [http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/armyvideo.shtml (Video)]

11 February 2006 (Saturday)

* Steve Fossett completes the world record for the longest non-stop, unrefuelled, flight when the Virgin Atlantic Global Flyer lands at Bournemouth airport in southern England after a flight lasting 76 hours and 45 minutes which covered a distance of 26,389.3 miles (42,469.46 km). The aircraft had to declare an emergency landing after suffering total electrical failure, and had only 200 lb (90 kg) of fuel remaining. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4704762.stm (BBC)]
*Thousands of people are planning to gather in London on Saturday to rally against the cartoons of Muhammad. [http://www.channel4.com/news/content/news-storypage.jsp?id=1063019 (Channel4)]

10 February 2006 (Friday)

*Liberal Democrats beat Labour in Dunfermline and West Fife by-election [http://telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/02/10/ndunf10.xml&sSheet=/news/2006/02/10/ixhome.html (Telegraph)]

9 February 2006 (Thursday)

* Simon Jenkins acquitted of murder of his foster daughter Billie-Jo [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/4661252.stm (BBC)] .
* Government announces Child Support Agency to be scrapped [http://telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/02/09/ucsa.xml&sSheet=/portal/2006/02/09/ixportaltop.html (Telegraph)] .
*The Manx Parliament votes to lower the voting age to 16 [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/isle_of_man/4690678.stm (BBC)]
* The General Synod of the Church of England unanimously votes to apologise to descendants of the slaves on Barbados where, two hundred years ago, the church's Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts that owned the Codrington Estates, used slaves for labour. [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-2031966,00.html (The Times)]