2006 in the United Kingdom

Events from the year 2006 in the United Kingdom.

Incumbents

* Monarch - HM Queen Elizabeth II
* Prime Minister - Tony Blair, Labour Party

Events

January

* 7 January - Charles Kennedy, leader of the Liberal Democrats resigns after revelations that he has a drinking problem.
* 20 January - River Thames whale: a whale is discovered swimming in the River Thames in London.

February

* 3 February - Islamist demonstration outside Danish Embassy in London in response to the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy.
* 9 February
** Dunfermline and West Fife by-election, Willie Rennie of the Liberal Democrats was the winner.
** The Government announces that the Child Support Agency is to be abolished.
* 10 February–26 February - Great Britain competes at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, and win one silver medal.
* 16 February - The 2006 BRIT Awards take place .
* 19 February - The 2006 BAFTA awards take place in London.
* 22 February
** Securitas depot robbery- around £53 million (US$92 million) stolen in the largest cash robbery in British crime history.
** The Prince of Wales'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".
* 27 February - 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".

March

* 1 March - The Welsh Assembly Building is opened by the Queen.
* 2 March
** Sir Menzies Campbell elected leader of the Liberal Democrats following a election caused by the resignation of previous leader, Charles Kennedy.
** Four people were injured in an explosion in a GlaxoSmithKline factory in Irvine, North Ayrshire.
* 7 March - The President of Brazil, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva makes a state visit to the UK.
* 14 March - Six men taking part in a clinical trial for a new anti-inflammatory drug TGN1412 are placed in intensive care, some in a life-threatening condition, after suffering adverse side-effects.
* 19 March - The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall begin a two week foreign tour to Egypt, Saudi Arabia and India.
* 20 March - The British Press Awards 2006 were held at The Dorchester, Park Lane, London.
* 23 March - 2005-2006 Christian Peacemaker hostage crisis- British peacemaker, Norman Kember, and three Canadians rescued by SAS troops.
* 28 March - Council workers across the UK strike over pension rights.

April

* 7 April - Mr Justice Peter Smith delivers judgment in the copyright case over "The Da Vinci Code" finding that Dan Brown had not breached the copyright of Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh. The judgment itself contained a coded message on the whim of the judge. [cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4949488.stm|title="Judge creates own Da Vinci code"|publisher= BBC News|date=2006-04-27|accessdate=2008-02-17]
* 12 April - Prince Harry of Wales passed out as a newly commissioned officer during the Sovereign's Parade at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.
* 18 April - Peugeot announces plans to close the 60-year-old car factory at Ryton near Coventry, which it bought from Chrysler in 1979, within the next year.
* 21 April - Queen Elizabeth II celebrated her 80th birthday at Windsor. The Prince of Wales makes a televised address in tribute.
* 26 April - The Duke of Edinburgh visits the Republic of Ireland. [cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4946862.stm|title="Duke in second visit to Ireland"|publisher= BBC News|date=2006-04-26|accessdate=2008-02-17]
* 27 April - By election in the Moray constituency of the Scottish Parliament. Richard Lochhead holds the seat for the Scottish National Party.

May

* 4 May - Local government elections take place in some areas of England.
* 5 May - Tony Blair reshuffles his cabinet. Charles Clarke is sacked as Home Secretary. Jack Straw is replaced as the Foreign Secretary by Margaret Beckett. John Prescott remains as Deputy Prime Minister, but losses responsibility for the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.
* 20 May - Campaigners "Fathers 4 Justice" invade the set of the National Lottery.

June

* 9 June–11 June - British Grand Prix held at Silverstone Circuit.
* 25 June
** Children's Party at the Palace held in honour of Queen's 80th birthday.
** The Lord Chancellor, Lord Falconer, rejects calls from families of murder victims for all convicted murderers to be sentenced to no less than a minimum of 25 years in prison. [cite web|url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4159/is_20060625/ai_n16504620|title="Home Briefing: 25-year minimum for murder rejected"|publisher= The Independent on Sunday|date=2006-06-25|accessdate=2008-02-17]
* 29 June
** Blaenau Gwent by-elections, 2006 independent candidates defeat Labour Party in parliamentary and Welsh Assembly by-elections.
** Bromley and Chislehurst by-election, 2006 won by Bob Neill for the Conservative Party.

July

* 4 July - Sheridan v News International- Scottish Socialist Party MSP, Tommy Sheridan begins legal action against the "News of the World" for libel at the Court of Session in Edinburgh.
* 17 July - George W. Bush greets Tony Blair with the phrase "Yo, Blair".
* 18 July - 180 British citizens evacuated from the Lebanon due to growing crisis between Hizbollah militants and Israel.
* 20 July - HMS "Bulwark" prepares to evacuate British nationals from the Lebanon.

August

* 10 August - Police make many arrests in relation to the 2006 transatlantic aircraft plot, and tight security measures are instigated at airports.

eptember

* 2 September - Royal Air Force Nimrod crash in Afghanistan: 14 military personnel killed in Britain's worst single loss since the Falklands war.
* 9 September - Helen Mirren awarded best actress at the Venice Film Festival for her role in "The Queen", with her portrayal as Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom following the events of the Death of Diana, Princess of Wales. [cite web
url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/5328462.stm
title="Mirren crowned 'queen' at Venice"
date=2006-09-09
accessdate=2008-02-17
publisher =BBC News]
* 20 September - Television presenter Richard Hammond suffered a serious brain injury when he crashed a jet powered car whilst filming for Top Gear.
* 25 September - Copmanthorpe rail crash - one man died when the 14:25 from Plymouth to Edinburgh operated by Virgin Trains hit a car at about 20:55.

October

* 30 October - The Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change is published by the UK government.

November

* 23 November - Alexander Litvinenko dies in London having been poisoned by Polonium 210. [cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6180682.stm|title="Radiation found after spy's death"|publisher= BBC News|date=2006-11-24|accessdate=2008-02-17]

December

* 7 December - A tornado hits London.
* 12 December - The Ryton car factory closes and Peugeot 206 production is transferred to Slovakia, several months ahead of the scheduled closure date.
* 21 December - Steve Wright, a 48-year-old forklift truck driver from Ipswich, is charged with the murders of five prostitutes whose bodies were recently found at different locations around the Suffolk town.
* 31 December - Hogmanay celebrations in Glasgow and Edinburgh cancelled due to poor weather conditions.

Publications

* Terry Pratchett's Discworld novel "Wintersmith".

Births

Deaths

* 2 January - John Woodnutt, actor (born 1924)
* 5 January - Merlyn Rees, former Home Secretary (born 1920)
* 8 January - Tony Banks, Baron Stratford, former Labour Party MP and Minister for Sport (b 1943)
* 24 January - Sir Nicholas Shackleton, geologist (b 1937)
* 8 February - Ron Greenwood, former footballer and football manager (born 1921)
* 9 February - Sir Freddie Laker, airline entrepreneur (born 1922)
* 13 February - P. F. Strawson, philosopher (born 1919)
* 24 February - Denis C. Twitchett, Cambridge scholar, and Chinese historian (born 1925)
* 27 February - Linda Smith, comedian (born 1958)
* 1 March
** Hugh McCartney, Scottish politician (born 1920)
** Peter Osgood, footballer (born 1947)
* 2 March - Jack Wild, actor (born 1952)
* 3 March - Ivor Cutler, poet, songwriter and humorist (born 1923)
* 9 March - John Profumo, politician (born 1915)
* 24 March - Lynne Perrie, actress (born 1931)
* 27 March - Ruari McLean, typographic designer (born 1917)
* 6 April - Leslie Norris, Anglo-Welsh poet and author (born 1921)
* 13 April - Muriel Spark, Scottish novelist (born 1918)
* 17 April - Calum Kennedy, Scottish singer (born 1928)
* 18 April - John Lyall, footballer and football manager (born 1940)
* 24 April - Brian Labone, footballer (born 1940)
* 25 April - Peter Law, Welsh politician (born 1948)
* 8 May - Iain MacMillan, photographer (born 1938)
* 10 May - Val Guest, film director (born 1911)
* 19 May - Freddie Garrity, singer (Freddie and the Dreamers) (born 1940)
* 28 June - George Unwin, fighter ace WWII (born 1913)
* 1 July - Fred Trueman, cricketer (born 1931)
* 7 July
** Syd Barrett, founding member of Pink Floyd (born 1946)
** Tom Weir, climber, author, and broadcaster (born 1914)
* 11 July - John Spencer, snooker player (born 1935)
* 16 July - Kevin Hughes, politician and MP for Doncaster North (born 1952)
* 18 July - David Maloney, television director and producer (born 1933
* 20 July - Ted Grant, politician (born 1913)
* 28 July - David Gemmell, author (born 1948)
* 13 August - Tony Jay, English-born actor (born 1933)
* 1 September - Kyffin Williams, landscape painter (born 1918)
* 2 September - Charlie Williams, comedian (born 1928)
* 5 September - Anne Gregg travel writer and TV presenter (born 1940)
* 8 September - Hilda Bernstein, English-born author, artist, and activist (born 1915)
* 9 September - John Drummond, controller of BBC Radio 3 (born 1934)
* 14 September - Peter Ling, Television writer and novelist (born 1926)
* 23 September - Malcolm Arnold, composer (born 1921)
* 24 September - Sally Gray, actress (born 1916)
* 28 September - James Hamilton, 4th Baron Hamilton of Dalzell, politician (born 1938)
* 4 October - Tom Bell, actor (born 1933)
* 9 October - Paul Hunter, snooker player (born 1978)
* 18 October - Anna Russell, British-born comedian and music satirist (born 1911)
* 22 October - Richard Mayes, actor (born 1922)
* 7 November - Elizabeth Balneaves, writer and filmmaker (born 1902)
* 23 November
** Nick Clarke radio and television presenter (born 1948)
** Alexander Litvinenko, Russian defecter (born 1962)
* 27 November - Alan Freeman DJ and radio personality (born 1927, Australia)
* 3 December - Craig Hinton, writer (born 1964)
* 23 December - Charlie Drake, comedian (born 1925)
* 26 December - Marmaduke Hussey, Baron Hussey of North Bradley, Chairman of the Board of Governors of the BBC (born 1923)
* 30 December - Antony Lambton, politician (born 1922)

References

ee also