2006 in the United Kingdom

Events from the year 2006 in the United Kingdom.

Incumbents

Monarch – Elizabeth II
Prime Minister – Tony Blair

Events

January

7 January – Charles Kennedy resigns as leader of the Liberal Democrats after admitting that he has a drinking problem.
20 January – River Thames whale: a whale is discovered swimming in the River Thames in London.
24 January – Sven-Göran Eriksson announces that he will retire as manager of the England national football team after this summer's World Cup in Germany. Eriksson, 57, has been in charge of the England team for five years and, as a Swede, is the first non-English manager of the England team.

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 wins the seat from Labour.
* The Government announces that the Child Support Agency is to be abolished.
10–26 February – Great Britain competes at the Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, and wins one silver medal.
16 February – The Brit Awards take place.
19 February – The BAFTA awards take place in London.
22 February
* Securitas depot robbery: around £53 million is stolen from a Securitas depot at Tonbridge, Kent, 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 the 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 Senedd, debating chamber of the National Assembly for Wales on Cardiff Bay, designed by Richard Rogers, is opened by the Queen.
2 March
* Sir Menzies Campbell is elected leader of the Liberal Democrats following an members' election caused by the resignation of previous leader, Charles Kennedy.
* Four people are injured in an explosion in a GlaxoSmithKline factory in Irvine, North Ayrshire.
7 March – The President of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, makes a state visit to the UK.
9 March – The notorious former politician John Profumo dies aged 91 of a stroke at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital.
13 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 the Duchess of Cornwall begin a two-week foreign tour to Egypt, Saudi Arabia and India.
20 March – The British Press Awards are held at The Dorchester, Park Lane, London, but boycotted by some national newspapers.
21 March – Labour's hopes of a fourth successive term in office at the next general election are given a boost when an Ipsos MORI opinion poll puts them eleven points ahead of the Conservatives on 42%.
23 March – 2005-2006 Christian Peacemaker hostage crisis: British peacemaker Norman Kember and three Canadians are rescued by SAS troops.
26 March – A smoking ban comes into effect in all enclosed public places in Scotland.
28 March
* Council workers across the UK strike over pension rights.
* Royal Regiment of Scotland created.
30 March – Identity Cards Act passed, providing for a national scheme of registration of individuals and issue of identity documents. It is never fully implemented and is repealed in 2011.

April

5 April – Discovery of a swan with avian influenza in Scotland.
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 contains a coded message on the whim of the judge.
12 April – Prince Harry passes out as a 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 – Elizabeth II celebrates her 80th birthday at Windsor. The Prince of Wales makes a televised address in tribute.
25 April – The BBC announces that Grandstand, its flagship sports TV programme, will end within the next year after nearly 50 years on air.
26 April – The Duke of Edinburgh visits the Republic of Ireland.
27 April – By-election in the Moray constituency of the Scottish Parliament. Richard Lochhead holds the seat for the Scottish National Party.
30 April – The last astronomy show is held at the London Planetarium before it is absorbed by neighbouring Madame Tussauds.

May

4 May
* Local government elections take place in some areas of England.
* Steve McClaren, manager of Middlesbrough Football Club, agrees to become the next manager of the England national football team after the World Cup.
5 May – Tony Blair reshuffles his cabinet. Charles Clarke is dismissed as Home Secretary. Jack Straw is replaced as the Foreign Secretary by Margaret Beckett. John Prescott remains as Deputy Prime Minister, but loses responsibility for the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.
18 May – Kiyan Prince, a 15-year-old boy and talented footballer, is stabbed to death in Edgware, London, while trying to break up a fight. His murderer, Hannad Hasan, will be sentenced at the Old Bailey in 2007.
20 May – Campaigners "Fathers 4 Justice" invade the set of the National Lottery.
30 May – An Ipsos MORI opinion poll shows the Conservatives back in the lead with 36% of the vote, two points ahead of Labour.

June

9–11 June – The British Grand Prix is held at the Silverstone Circuit and is won by reigning world champion Fernando Alonso, ahead of Michael Schumacher and Kimi Räikkönen, while local hero Jenson Button retires earlier in the race with an engine oil leak.
10 June – The England football team's World Cup campaign begins with a 1–0 win over Paraguay.
15 June – England beat Trinidad and Tobago 2–0 in their second World Cup group game.
20 June – England go through to the knockout stages of the World Cup with a 2–2 draw against Sweden in their final group game.
25 June
* Children's Party at the Palace held in honour of The Queen's 80th birthday.
* The Lord Chancellor, Lord Falconer, rejects calls from families of murder victims for all convicted murderers to be sentenced to a minimum of 25 years in prison.
* England advance to the World Cup quarter-finals for the second tournament in succession by beating Ecuador 1–0 with a goal from captain David Beckham.
29 June
* Blaenau Gwent by-elections: independent candidates Dai Davies and Trish Law defeat Labour Party in parliamentary and Welsh Assembly by-elections. The elections were called following the death of incumbent Peter Law.
* Bromley and Chislehurst by-election: Bob Neill holds the seat for the Conservative Party.
30 June – Three men are convicted of plotting the execution-style murders of a middle-aged couple, John and Joan Stirland, at their home in Trusthorpe, Lincolnshire, in 2004. The killings were in revenge for a murder committed by Joan Stirland's son in Nottingham in 2003. Five other men were cleared of conspiracy to murder following the trial at Birmingham Crown Court.

July

July – The European heat wave affects the UK, resulting in July 1983's record for the hottest month in the CET series being beaten with a mean monthly CET of.
1 July – England's World Cup campaign ends in the quarter-finals when they lose on penalties to Portugal after a goalless draw.
4 July – Sheridan v News Group Newspapers Ltd: Scottish Socialist Party MSP Tommy Sheridan begins an action for defamation against the News of the World at the Court of Session in Edinburgh. Sheridan's case is upheld but he is later prosecuted for perjury.
7 July – The United Kingdom commemorates the first anniversary of the 7/7 London terrorist bombings.
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.
22 July – Arsenal Football Club move into the Emirates Stadium, named after the airline company as part of a 15-year sponsorship deal, after 93 years at nearby Highbury. The 60,000-seat stadium is the largest club stadium to have been built in English football since Maine Road, which was home of Manchester City from 1923 to 2003.

August

1 August – Steve McClaren is officially appointed as manager of the England national football team.
9–10 August – Police make many arrests in relation to a transatlantic aircraft plot, and tight security measures are instigated at airports.
August – The first modern solely Gaelic-medium school to offer secondary education, Sgoil Ghàidhlig Ghlaschu, is opened at Woodside in Glasgow.

September

2 September – Royal Air Force Nimrod crash in Afghanistan: fourteen personnel are killed in Britain's worst single military loss since the Falklands War.
9 September – Helen Mirren is awarded best actress at the Venice Film Festival for her role in The Queen, portraying Elizabeth II following the death of Diana, Princess of Wales.
20 September – Television presenter Richard Hammond suffers a serious brain injury when he crashes a jet-powered car whilst filming for Top Gear.
23 September – The composer Sir Malcolm Arnold dies aged 84 in Norwich.
25 September – Copmanthorpe rail crash: One man dies when the 14:25 from Plymouth to Edinburgh operated by Virgin CrossCountry hits a car at about 20:55.

October

1 October – Regulatory Reform Order 2005 comes into effect, requiring a Fire Risk Assessment for all non-domestic premises in England and Wales.
5 October – Rt. Hon. Elish Angiolini, QC, appointed as Lord Advocate in Scotland. She is the first woman and the first solicitor to be appointed to the post.
9 October – Opening of the Beetham Tower, Manchester, a landmark 168-metre 47-storey skyscraper with oversailing upper floors designed by Ian Simpson of SimpsonHaugh and Partners, the tallest building in the UK outside London, and with its penthouse apartments being the highest residential addresses in the country.
13 October: European Home Retail plc and its subsidiary Farepak go into administration, leaving tens of thousands of people out of pocket for Christmas 2006.
26 October – The Duke of Edinburgh officially opens Arsenal's new stadium.
30 October – The Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change is published by the UK government.

November

2 November – Volunteers from the Royal British Legion's Lloyd's of London Branch organise the first London Poppy Day to raise funds for the Poppy Appeal.
5 November – 53-year-old Ronald Castree is arrested in connection with the murder of 11-year-old Lesley Molseed in 1975. Stefan Kiszko had spent 16 years in jail for the crime before his conviction was quashed in 1992. Castree would be convicted of the crime in November 2007.
7 November – Dhiren Barot is sentenced to life imprisonment for plotting large scale terrorist attacks in Britain and abroad. The Court of Appeal noted that Barot's "businesslike" plans would have caused carnage on a "colossal and unprecedented scale" if they had been successful.
8 November – Three men of Pakistani origin sentenced to life imprisonment for the racist murder of Kriss Donald in Glasgow.
13 November – The legendary racehorse Desert Orchid dies aged 27 at Newmarket.
16 November – The 21st James Bond film – Casino Royale – is released in British cinemas. Daniel Craig makes his debut as Bond in the film.
19 November – Home Secretary John Reid attacks the Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown for being "presumptuous" and "disloyal" for openly campaigning to replace Tony Blair as Prime Minister.
23 November – Alexander Litvinenko dies in London having been poisoned by Polonium-210.
24 November – Loyalist Michael Stone attempts to bomb the Northern Ireland Assembly on the day nominations for first and deputy first minister are to be made. Ian Paisley indicates his willingness to serve as First Minister.

December

2 December – A young woman's body is found in a brook near Ipswich; her death is initially treated as "unexplained".
4 December – The woman whose corpse was found in Ipswich two days ago is identified as Gemma Adams, a 25-year-old local prostitute. Her death is reported to be suspicious and police launch a murder inquiry. There are also concerns about another Ipswich prostitute, 19-year-old Tania Nicol, who went missing on 30 October.
7 December – The London Tornado of 2006 hits.
8 December – The body of missing Ipswich prostitute Tania Nicol is found on the outskirts of the town.
9 December – Police in Ipswich launch a murder investigation into the death of Tania Nicol and admit that it is likely she met her death at the hands of the same person or people who killed Gemma Adams.
10 December – A third prostitute's body is found in the Ipswich area.
14 December – Two more women are found dead in Ipswich and it is confirmed that both are prostitutes, meaning that the police are now investigating five murders.
12 December – The Ryton car factory closes and Peugeot 206 production is transferred to Slovakia, several months ahead of the scheduled closure date. 2,300 jobs are lost.
18 December – A man is arrested near Felixstowe on suspicion of murdering the five Ipswich prostitutes. He is named as Tom Stephens, a 37-year-old Tesco supermarket worker.
19 December – A second man, 48-year-old forklift truck driver Steve Wright, is arrested in connection with the Ipswich serial murders, while police are given more time to question the first suspect.
21 December – Steve Wright is charged with the Ipswich prostitute murders, while Tom Stephens is released on bail pending further inquiries.
29 December – The British government pays off the Anglo-American loan made in 1946.
31 December – Public Hogmanay celebrations in Glasgow and Edinburgh are cancelled due to poor weather conditions.

Publications

Richard Dawkins' atheist argument The God Delusion.
Victoria and Elizabeth Kann's children's picture book Pinkalicious.
James Lovelock's climate crisis hypothesis The Revenge of Gaia.
Terry Pratchett's Discworld novel Wintersmith.
Will Self's novel The Book of Dave.

Births

20 January – Ethan Wheatley, footballer
1 March – Peter Connelly, child abuse victim
1 May – Lewis Miley, footballer
22 June – Anna Hursey, Welsh table tennis player
July - Cllr. George Finch, leader of Warwickshire county council.

Deaths

January

2 January – John Woodnutt, actor
5 January
* Merlyn Rees, politician, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and Home Secretary
* Rachel Squire, Scottish politician
8 January – Tony Banks, Baron Stratford, politician, Minister for Sport
10 January – Alethea Hayter, writer
14 January – Mark Philo, footballer
17 January – Giles Worsley, architectural historian
21 January – John James Cowperthwaite, civil servant, Financial Secretary of Hong Kong
23 January – Michael Wharton, humorist
24 January – Sir Nicholas Shackleton, geologist
25 January – Robin Coombs, immunologist, creator of the Coombs test
27 January
* Christopher Lloyd, gardening writer
* Victor Mishcon, Baron Mishcon, lawyer and politician
28 January – Henry McGee, actor
31 January – Moira Shearer, ballerina, actress and wife of Ludovic Kennedy

February

3 February – Ernie Clements, racing cyclist
4 February – Jack Taylor, one of Britain's heaviest men
6 February – Stella Ross-Craig, flora illustrator
8 February
* Michael Gilbert, lawyer and crime fiction writer
* Ron Greenwood, footballer and manager
9 February – Sir Freddie Laker, airline entrepreneur
11 February – Peggy Cripps Appiah, children's author and socialite
13 February
* John Brooke-Little, herald
* P. F. Strawson, philosopher
14 February – Lynden David Hall, soul singer
16 February – Dennis Kirkland, television producer
20 February – Lou Gish, actress
24 February – Denis C. Twitchett, Cambridge scholar, Chinese historian
26 February
* Georgina Battiscombe, biographer
* Hans Singer, economist, devised Prebisch–Singer hypothesis
27 February – Linda Smith, comedian

March

1 March
* Hugh McCartney, Scottish politician
* Peter Osgood, footballer
2 March
* Alice Baker, Leading Aircraftswoman in the Royal Flying Corps and last surviving British female veteran of World War I
* Jack Wild, actor
3 March – Ivor Cutler, Scottish poet, songwriter and humorist
7 March – John Junkin, actor
8 March – George Sassoon, scientist and author
9 March – John Profumo, politician
11 March – Sir Anthony Farrar-Hockley, Army general and military historian
16 March
* James "Speedy" Hill, Army brigadier
* Moira Redmond, actress
18 March – Michael Attwell, actor
21 March – Richard Usborne, journalist and author
24 March – Lynne Perrie, actress
26 March – Nikki Sudden, singer-songwriter and guitarist
27 March – Ruari McLean, Scottish-born typographic designer

April

4 April – John George Macleod, Scottish doctor
6 April – Leslie Norris, Anglo-Welsh poet and author
11 April – Angus Wells, writer
12 April – Richard Bebb, actor
13 April – Muriel Spark, Scottish novelist
17 April – Calum Kennedy, Scottish singer
18 April – John Lyall, footballer and manager
23 April – Jennifer Jayne, actress
24 April – Brian Labone, footballer
25 April – Peter Law, Welsh politician
30 April – Barry Driscoll, painter and sculptor

May

1 May – Wilfrid Butt, biochemist
6 May – Sarah-Jayne Mulvihill, RAF flight lieutenant
7 May – Duncan Inglis Cameron, Scottish university administrator
8 May – Iain MacMillan, photographer
10 May
* Val Guest, film director
* Marie Hartley, writer
15 May – David Sharp, mountaineer ; died on Mount Everest
17 May
* Eric Forth, Scottish-English politician, Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
* John Miller, Army lieutenant-colonel, Crown Equerry to the Queen
18 May – Kiyan Prince, footballer
19 May
* Peter Bryant, television producer and actor
* Freddie Garrity, singer
20 May – Tommy Watt, jazz bandleader
22 May – Jack Fallon, jazz bassist
23 May – James Lowther, 7th Earl of Lonsdale, peer
29 May – Paul Douglas, journalist and cameraman

June

2 June
* Ronald Cass, screenwriter and composer
* Roy Farran, Army major
4 June
* Alec Bregonzi, actor
* Sir John Rowlands GC, RAF air marshal
6 June – Leslie Alcock, archaeologist, chief excavator of Cadbury Castle
8 June – Peter Smithers, politician
10 June – Peter Douglas Kennedy, collector of folk songs
11 June
* Ernest Arthur Bell, biochemist, Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
* Bruce Shand, Army major and father of Queen Camilla
12 June – Hugh Latimer, actor
14 June – Monty Berman, cinematographer
16 June – Roland Boyes, politician
17 June – Julian Slade, composer
22 June – Gilbert Monckton, 2nd Viscount Monckton of Brenchley, Army major-general and politician
25 June
* Elkan Allan, television producer
* Kenneth Griffith, Welsh actor
28 June – George Unwin, RAF wing commander and Battle of Britain ace
29 June – Joyce Hatto, pianist

July

1 July – Fred Trueman, cricketer
6 July
* E. S. Turner, journalist and author
* Tom Weir, climber, author and broadcaster
7 July – Syd Barrett, founding member of Pink Floyd
8 July – Peter Hawkins, actor and voice artist
9 July – Alan Senitt, activist
10 July – Tommy Bruce, singer
11 July – John Spencer, snooker player
15 July – Francis Rose, botanist
16 July – Kevin Hughes, politician
18 July – David Maloney, television director and producer
20 July – Ted Grant, politician
23 July – Terence Otway, Army lieutenant-colonel and veteran of Operation Tonga
26 July – Jessie Gilbert, chess player
28 July
* Patrick Allen, actor
* David Gemmell, author
30 July – Philip D'Arcy Hart, medical researcher, pioneer in tuberculosis treatment

August

1 August – George Styles GC, Army lieutenant-colonel
2 August – Kim McLagan, fashion model
3 August – Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, German-born operatic soprano
6 August
* Stella Moray, actress
* Ian Walters, sculptor
9 August – Philip Empson High, science fiction author
13 August
* Jack Edwards, soldier and veterans' campaigner
* Tony Jay, English-born actor
17 August – Christopher Polge, biologist
19 August – Joyce Blair, actress
23 August
* Nigel Malim, rear-admiral
* Raymond Harold Sawkins, novelist
24 August – David Plowright, television producer
30 August
* Margaret Hubble, radio broadcaster
* Emrys Jones, Welsh geographer
* Hector Monro, Baron Monro of Langholm, politician

September

1 September – Kyffin Williams, landscape painter
2 September –
* Lionel Pickering, businessman, football chairman
* Charlie Williams, comedian, previously footballer
3 September
* Levi Fox, conservationist and historian
* Ian Hamer, jazz trumpeter
4 September – Clive Lythgoe, pianist
5 September – Anne Gregg, travel writer and television presenter
8 September – Hilda Bernstein, English-born author, artist and activist
9 September – John Drummond, controller of BBC Radio 3
11 September – William Auld, poet and esperantist
13 September – Sir Douglas Dodds-Parker, soldier and politician
14 September – Peter Ling, television writer and novelist
15 September – Raymond Baxter, television presenter
23 September – Malcolm Arnold, composer
24 September – Sally Gray, actress
27 September – Sir Michael Pollock, admiral
28 September – James Hamilton, 4th Baron Hamilton of Dalzell, politician

October

1 October – Alan Caillou, writer
3 October
* Lucilla Andrews, author of romantic novels
* John Crank, physicist
4 October – Tom Bell, actor
5 October – Jennifer Moss, actress
9 October
* Reg Freeson, politician
* Paul Hunter, snooker player
11 October – Robert Megarry, judge
15 October – Derek Bond, actor
16 October – Ross Davidson, actor
17 October – Ursula Moray Williams, children's author
18 October
* Anna Russell, British-born comedian and music satirist
* Laurie Taitt, Olympic sprint hurdler
20 October – Eric Newby, travel writer
21 October – Arthur Peacocke, theologian and biochemist
24 October – William Montgomery Watt, professor of Islamic Studies at the University of Edinburgh
22 October – Richard Mayes, actor
25 October – Paul Ableman, novelist
29 October – Nigel Kneale, screenwriter and husband of Judith Kerr
31 October – William Franklyn, actor

November

4 November – John McManners, clergyman and historian
7 November – Elizabeth Balneaves, writer and filmmaker
10 November – Diana Coupland, actress
11 November – Ronnie Stevens, actor
13 November – Desert Orchid, National Hunt racehorse
14 November – John Hallam, actor
16 November – John Veale, composer
17 November – John Acland, Army major-general
18 November – Keith Rowlands, rugby union player
19 November
* Edward Ford, courtier, Private Secretary to the British monarch
* Emanuel Hurwitz, violinist
23 November
* Nick Clarke, radio and television presenter
* Alexander Litvinenko, Russian defector; dies in Britain after being poisoned
26 November – Anthony Jackson, actor
27 November – Alan Freeman, DJ and radio personality
28 November – Bernard Orchard, biblical scholar
29 November – Allen Carr, anti-smoking campaigner

December

3 December – Craig Hinton, writer
5 December – Timothy Moxon, actor
6 December
* Darren Brown, guitarist and lead singer
* Mavis Pugh, actress
8 December – Colin Figures, head of the Secret Intelligence Service
9 December – Tremayne Rodd, 3rd Baron Rennell, rugby union player
13 December – Eileen Caddy, spiritual teacher, founder of the Findhorn Foundation
14 December – John Bridge, World War II sailor
18 December – Mike Dickin, DJ and radio personality
19 December – Elisabeth Rivers-Bulkeley, first woman member of the London Stock Exchange
21 December
* Philippa Pearce, children's author
* Sydney Wooderson, lawyer and athlete, world record holder for mile run
23 December – Charlie Drake, comedian
26 December
* John Heath-Stubbs, poet and translator
* Marmaduke Hussey, Baron Hussey of North Bradley, chairman of the board of Governors of the BBC
30 December – Antony Lambton, politician