2010 in England


Events from '''2010 in England'''

Events

January

February

March

  • 2 March – Jon Venables, one of the two boys found guilty of murdering Merseyside toddler James Bulger in 1993, is recalled to prison after breaching terms of his life licence. Venables, now 42, spent eight years in custody before being paroled along with Robert Thompson in 2001.
  • 8 March – Jack Straw, the Justice Secretary, rejects ongoing public calls for the reasons that Jon Venables has been recalled to custody to be made public.
  • 12 March – Birmingham couple Angela Gordon and Junaid Abuhamza received prison sentences after being convicted of the manslaughter of Ms Gordon's seven-year-old daughter Khyra Ishaq, who died as a result of starvation two years ago. Ms Gordon is sentenced to 15 years in prison, while Mr Abuhamza is sentenced to indefinite imprisonment with a recommended minimum term of seven and a half years.
  • 20 March –
  • *The first British Airways strike, set to last for three days, begins. More than 80 planes are grounded at Heathrow Airport alone and numerous flights are reported to have been cancelled, though British Airways officials are confident that 65% of flights will be undisturbed.
  • *67 people are arrested and several people are injured in Bolton town centre during a clash between members of the English Defence League and Unite Against Fascism.
  • 30 March – Levi Bellfield, a 41-year-old man two years into a life sentence for murdering two women and attempting to murder a third, is charged with the murder of Surrey teenager Milly Dowler, who disappeared in Walton-on-Thames eight years ago and whose body was found in Hampshire woodland six months later.

April

May

June

  • 2 June – Twelve people are killed and 25 injured after a gunman, identified as taxi driver Derrick Bird, goes on a killing spree in the Whitehaven, Egremont and Seascale areas of Cumbria. He is found dead, having reportedly shot himself, in woodland at Boot.
  • 3 June – Police release the names of the twelve people who were killed in yesterday's shootings in Cumbria. They include Derrick Bird's 52-year-old twin brother David, the family's 60-year-old solicitor Kevin Commons, and 31-year-old Garry Purdham, brother of rugby league player Rob Purdham.
  • 13 June – The England football team's World Cup campaign in South Africa begins with a disappointing 1–1 draw against the USA.
  • 18 June – England's hopes of reaching the next stage of the World Cup are dealt a major blow when they are held to a goalless draw by Algeria.
  • 21 June – Jon Venables, one of the two killers of Merseyside toddler James Bulger, appears in court charged with possession and distribution of indecent images of children. Venables, now 28, was released on life licence in 2001 with a new identity after serving eight years for the murder, along with Robert Thompson.
  • 23 June – England qualify for the last 16 of the World Cup thanks to a 1–0 win over Slovenia in their final group game. Jermain Defoe scores the winning goal.
  • 27 June – England are eliminated from the World Cup in South Africa, losing 4–1 to Germany in the second round at Bloemfontein. One other England goal is disallowed.

July

  • 3 July – Christopher Brown is shot dead in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, by a gunman who badly wounds his 22-year-old girlfriend Samantha Stobbart.
  • 4 July – PC David Rathband is badly wounded in another shooting incident in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. The gunman is reported to be 37-year-old Raoul Moat, who is also named as a suspect for the incident in Gateshead yesterday. Mr Moat was released from prison on 1 July after spending nine weeks in prison for assault.
  • 9 July – Northumbria police are reported to have found an armed man, believed to be murder suspect Raoul Moat, in the local area and are negotiating with him to persuade him to give himself up.
  • 10 July – The week-long police manhunt for Raoul Moat comes to an end after he shoots himself dead following a six-hour stand off with officers in a field at Rothbury, Northumberland.
  • 11 July – The British Grand Prix at Silverstone is won by Mark Webber with Lewis Hamilton in second place.
  • 14 July – David Cameron condemns individuals who have left tributes to Raoul Moat; floral tributes have been left at the scene of his suicide and a Facebook group has been set up in his memory.
  • 16 July – The High Court rules that Yorkshire Ripper Peter Sutcliffe, jailed for life in 1981 for murdering 13 women and attempting to murder seven others, should never be released from custody. Sutcliffe, now 64, spent the first four years of his imprisonment in a mainstream prison before being declare insane and moved to a secure mental hospital in 1985, where he has remained ever since. However, a psychiatrist's report on Sutcliffe reveals that his mental illness was now under better control.
  • 23 July –
  • * Jon Venables is sentenced to two years in prison after admitting distributing child pornography.
  • * Gavin Grant, a former footballer who played for Millwall, Wycombe Wanderers and Bradford City, is found guilty of a murder committed in Harlesden, London, six years ago.
  • 28 July – Home Secretary Theresa May announces plans to scrap the use of Anti-Social Behaviour Orders in England and Wales.
  • 29 July – Metro Bank opens its first branch, in Holborn, London, the first wholly new high street bank for more than a century.

August

September

  • 14 September – Singer George Michael, 47, is fined £1,250 and jailed for two months after being found guilty of crashing his car after taking cannabis.
  • 23 September – Official opening of Thanet Wind Farm, by Liberal Democrat MP Chris Huhne and Oystein Loseth – head of Swedish firm Vatenfall, who built the turbines at a cost of £750million over two years.
  • 27 September – Labour Party activists at the conference in Manchester condemn the coalition government's proposed public spending cuts as "obscene".

October

November

December

Deaths