2002 in the United Kingdom

2002 in the United Kingdom
Other years
2000 | 2001 | 2002 (2002) | 2003 | 2004
Countries of the United Kingdom
England | Northern Ireland | Scotland | Wales
Popular culture

Events from the year 2002 in the United Kingdom. This year was the Golden Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II.

Incumbents

Events

January

  • 1 January – Ford unveils their all-new Fiesta supermini which is due on sale in March, but the new model will not be produced in Dagenham, instead, it will be produced in Ford's other European plants in Germany and Spain.
  • 5 January - Television debut of the Mr. Bean animated series on ITV.
  • 7 January – It is announced that a record of 2,450,000 new cars were sold during 2001, breaking the previous record set in 1989. The Ford Focus was Britain's best-selling car for the third year in a row.
  • 14 January – The foot and mouth crisis is declared over after eleven months.

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

  • 2 August – 2002 Barrow-in-Furness legionellosis outbreak: First fatality in an outbreak of Legionnaires' disease in Barrow-in-Furness which results in seven deaths and 172 cases throughout the month, ranking it as the worst in the UK's history and fifth-worst worldwide.
  • 4 August – 10-year-old girls Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman go missing in Soham, Cambridgeshire.
  • 5 August – Police and volunteers in the Soham area begin the search for Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman.
  • 7 August – Police investigating the case of the two missing Soham girls seize a white van in nearby Wentworth and admit they are now looking at the case as a possible abduction.
  • 12 August – A possible sighting of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman is reported by a local taxi driver who claims to have seen the driver of a green car struggling with two children and driving recklessly along the A142 into Newmarket on the evening the girls went missing.
  • 13 August – Two mounds of disturbed earth are found at Warren Hill, near Newmarket, in the same area where screams were reported on the night that Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman went missing. It is initially feared that the mounds of earth were the graves of the two girls, but a police examination fails to uncover any link to the girls.
  • 16 August – Ian Huntley, caretaker of Soham Village College, and his girlfriend Maxine Carr, are questioned in connection with the disappearance of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman, but are released after seven hours in custody.
  • 17 August – Following the recovery of items of major interest to the police investigation, Ian Huntley and Maxine Carr are arrested again on suspicion of murder, as police admit for the first time that they fear the missing girls are now dead. Several hours later, two "severely decomposed and partially skeletonised" bodies are found in the Lakenheath area; they have not been identified but police say that they are likely to be those of the two missing girls.
  • 21 August – Ian Huntley, detained under the Mental Health Act, is charged with the murders of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman. His girlfriend Maxine Carr is charged with perverting the course of justice. Both are remanded in custody. Meanwhile, police confirm that the two bodies found at Lakenheath are those of the two girls.

September

  • 20 September – Police confirm that human remains found in woodland in north Hampshire are those of Milly Dowler, who went missing in Surrey six months ago. A murder investigation is launched.
  • 22 September – An earthquake in Dudley is felt throughout England and Wales.

October

November

  • 1 November – Diana, Princess of Wales' former butler, Paul Burrell, is cleared of stealing from the late princess' estate after it was revealed that he had told The Queen that he was keeping some of her possessions.
  • 13 November – 2002-2003 UK firefighter dispute begins.
  • 15 November – Moors murderer Myra Hindley dies in West Suffolk Hospital at the age of 60 after being hospitalised with a heart attack. She was in the 37th year of her life sentence and had spent the last decade attempting to gain parole, having been told by no less than four Home Secretaries that she would have to spend the rest of her life in prison, having previously increased her minimum term from 25 to 30 years during the 1980s, and then to a whole life tariff in 1990. Media sources report that the Home Office will soon be stripped of its power to set minimum terms for life sentence prisoners, and Hindley had been widely expected to gain parole in the near future as a result.
  • 20 November
    • German anatomist Gunther von Hagens conducts a public autopsy in a London theatre; the first in Britain in more than 170 years.
    • 40 years after the first James Bond film was made, the twentieth film is released in British cinemas as Pierce Brosnan bows out as Bond in Die Another Day after four films in seven years.
  • 23 November – The Miss World beauty competition is held in London after rioting in the Nigerian capital Lagos prevented it from being hosted there.
  • 24 November – Home Secretary David Blunkett rules that four convicted child murderers should spend at least 50 years in prison before being considered for parole. This ruling means that Roy Whiting, Howard Hughes, Timothy Morss and Brett Tyler are likely to remain behind bars until at least the ages of 92, 80, 79 and 81 respectively.
  • 26 November – Politicians in England and Wales lose their power to set minimum terms on life sentence prisoners after the European Court of Human Rights and the High Court both rule in favour of a legal challenge by convicted double murderer Anthony Anderson. Anderson had been sentenced to life imprisonment in 1988 and the trial judge recommended that he should serve a minimum of 15 years before being considered for parole, but the Home Secretary later decided on a 20-year minimum term.
  • 30 November – Girl band Girls Aloud are formed from the five female contestants who win the ITV talent show Popstars: The Rivals.

December

Undated

  • Appz Magazine is founded.
  • BedZED (Beddington Zero Energy Development), the country's first large-scale zero energy housing development, of 99 homes in Beddington, London, designed by Bill Dunster, is completed.
  • The mobile network BT Cellnet changes its name to O2.
  • Over 50% of the UK population (well over 30,000,000 people) now have internet access.
  • Car sales in Britain reach a record level for the second year running, now exceeding 2,500,000 for the first time ever. The Ford Focus is Britain's best-selling car for the fourth year in a row with more than 150,000 sold and Ford retains its lead of the manufacturers for British sales which it has held since 1975. They have a total of four model ranges among Britain's top 10 selling cars for the first time since 1989. Vauxhall, Peugeot, Renault and Volkswagen also enjoy strong sales.
  • Moneyhelpline price comparison service company is founded in Kent.
  • Nip & Tuck, a DJ and producer collaboration release their first dance production.
  • Thornton's Bookshop closes, Oxford's oldest bookshop.

Publications

Births

Deaths

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

Elizabeth Pakenham, Countess of Longford with her husband on their wedding day

November

December

See also


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