2024 in the United Kingdom


Events from the year 2024 in the United Kingdom. This year is noted for a landslide general election victory for the Labour Party under Keir Starmer.

Incumbents

January

  • 1 January
  • * Figures show the annual number of migrants crossing the English Channel fell during 2023, doing so for the first time since records began. The provisional annual total for 2023 is 29,437, a 36% decrease from the 2022 total of 45,774.
  • * Secretary of State for Defence Grant Shapps says that British forces are ready to act against Houthi rebels targeting cargo ships in the Red Sea.
  • * VAT on period pants is abolished, potentially making the products cheaper to buy.
  • * A 5% increase in the price cap on domestic energy comes into force for England, Scotland and Wales.
  • * Kimberlee Singler, a 35-year-old mother accused of the murder of two of her children in Colorado, United States, appears before Westminster Magistrates Court for extradition proceedings following her arrest in London on 30 December 2023.
  • * HMRC announces a crackdown on tax evasion by those who make extra cash from "side hustle" websites like Airbnb, Amazon, eBay and Etsy.
  • 2 January
  • * Storm Henk:
  • ** The Met Office issues a severe weather warning as Storm Henk hits parts of the UK, bringing winds of up to 80 mph, along with the risk of flooding.
  • ** A man in his 50s dies on the A433 near Kemble, Gloucestershire after a tree falls on his car during high winds.
  • ** At the London Eye, strong winds blow open a pod hatch while a family of 11 is 400 ft in the air.
  • ** Footage emerges of a mother and her three-year-old daughter being rescued from a submerged car in Birmingham.
  • ** An 87-year-old woman dies on the B4526 near Crays Pond, Oxfordshire after the car she is driving hits a fallen tree.
  • * Research published by the RAC indicates that the target set by the UK government for installing rapid or ultra-rapid chargers near motorways was missed during 2023.
  • * Provisional data released by the Met Office indicates 2023 was the second warmest year on record in the UK behind 2022, with Wales and Northern Ireland experiencing their warmest year on record during 2023.
  • * 16-year-old Luke Littler beats Rob Cross to reach the World Darts Championship final, making him the youngest person to reach the final; overtaking Kirk Shepherd who was 21 years and 88 days old when he reached the 2008 final.
  • 3 January
  • * Luke Littler becomes the youngest finalist of the PDC World Darts Championship as he faces Luke Humphries in the 2024 final at the age of 16 years and 348 days. Humphries wins the final.
  • * Halifax, the UK's largest moneylender, cuts its mortgage rates by almost 1%, with other banks and lenders following.
  • 4 January
  • * Prime Minister Rishi Sunak says his "working assumption" is that the general election will take place in the second half of this year.
  • * Sainsbury's announces that they will offer pay rises from March as supermarkets continue their battle to retain workers. The increase means that all their workers will be paid the voluntary Real Living Wage, which is higher than the compulsory National Living Wage.
  • * A man is arrested after firing shots at a cinema, newsagent, and a house in Croxteth, Liverpool.
  • 5 January
  • * The Metropolitan Police says it is not investigating allegations against Prince Andrew after unsealed court papers in the United States contained groping allegations against him.
  • * Critics brand comments by Sir Howard Davies, chair of NatWest, as "astounding" and "out of touch with reality" after he told BBC Radio 4s Today programme it was "not that difficult" for someone to buy a house.
  • * Chris Skidmore, MP for Kingswood, announces his intention to stand down from Parliament "as soon as possible" in protest at the UK government's decision to issue more oil and gas licences. His decision will trigger another by-election.
  • * Lawyers representing potential victims of the British Post Office scandal say they have been contacted by a further 50 people following the broadcast of the ITV drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office.
  • 6 January
  • * The Metropolitan Police confirms it has launched an investigation into the Post Office for potential fraud over the Horizon IT scandal.
  • * The rate of National Insurance is reduced from 12% to 10%, reducing NI contributions for an estimated 27 million employees earning between £12,571 and £50,270.
  • 7 January
  • * Sir Keir Starmer admits he worries about the toll of a general election year on his two teenage children as he and his wife try to keep them out of the public eye.
  • * Sunak describes the Post Office scandal as "an appalling miscarriage of justice" and says the government is looking at ways to clear the names of those convicted because of faulty IT software.
  • 8 January
  • * Mondelez International announces plans to celebrate the bicentenary 200th Anniversary of Cadbury.
  • * Chinese authorities say they have detained an individual who they allege has been working for the British Secret Intelligence Service MI6.
  • * Ofgem grants permission for energy companies to resume the forced installation of prepayment meters a year after the practice was suspended and after drawing up new rules that prohibits them being installed under certain conditions, such as households where the occupant is over 75, where there are children under two, and for those with certain health conditions.
  • * At an event held in Parliament Square, the actor Idris Elba calls on the UK government to introduce an immediate ban on the sale of zombie knives and machetes to reduce the number of young people losing their lives because of the weapons.
  • * London and the south-east see a mix of snow, sleet, and rain as the country braces for a week-long cold spell.
  • * British Post Office scandal:
  • ** More than a million people have signed a petition calling for former Post Office chief executive Paula Vennells to be stripped of her CBE in the wake of the Horizon IT scandal.
  • ** Labour Party leader Keir Starmer, who was Director of Public Prosecutions during the scandal, faces questions over why he failed to intervene in the prosecution of innocent sub-postmasters at the time.
  • 9 January
  • * Economists say that funding the student loans system in England is expected to cost the government an extra £10 billion a year.
  • * British Post Office scandal:
  • ** Secretary of State for Justice Alex Chalk tells Parliament the UK government is giving "serious consideration" to introducing legislation to quash the convictions of the 700 or so sub post masters who were prosecuted as a result of the Horizon IT scandal.
  • ** Former Post Office chief executive Paula Vennells announces that she will hand back her CBE after more than a million people signed a petition calling for her to do so.
  • ** Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey, who was Post Office minister during the scandal, comes under pressure to return his knighthood.
  • 10 January
  • * British Post Office scandal:
  • ** Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announces that emergency legislation will be brought through Parliament to "swiftly exonerate and compensate victims" of the Post Office scandal in England and Wales.
  • ** First Minister of Scotland Humza Yousaf confirms those in Scotland convicted because of the scandal will also be cleared, and that he will work with the UK government to bring this about.
  • * Baroness Heather Hallett, chair of the UK COVID-19 Inquiry, confirms the inquiry will postpone the start of hearing evidence about the development of a vaccine as more time is needed to prepare for a separate investigation into the impact of COVID-19 on the NHS. Consequently, the vaccine evidence, which was due to begin being heard in Summer 2024 may not begin until after the next general election.
  • * HS2 Ltd releases a revised forecast for building the London to Birmingham leg of the High Speed 2 rail link, which is now estimated to total £65bn.
  • 11 January
  • * Former England manager, Sven-Goran Eriksson, announces he has terminal cancer and that he has roughly a year to live.
  • * The BBC's Panorama programme finds that fast-fashion firm Boohoo have labelled 'Made in UK' on potentially thousands of clothes that were actually made in South Asia.
  • * BBC News research indicates that most NHS targets have been missed for the past seven years.
  • * Rishi Sunak authorises joint UK–US air strikes against Houthi rebels following attacks against cargo shipping targets in the Red Sea.
  • * A fire starts on the 200 hybrid electric bus during the morning rush hour in Wimbledon.
  • * Scutigera coleoptrata, a venomous centipede, is discovered in the United Kingdom for the first time. Dr Richard Jones, an academic at the University of Leicester, spotted the bug in his downstairs bathroom in Upton, Newark-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire.
  • 12 January
  • * 2024 missile strikes in Yemen:
  • ** The UK and US launch air strikes against Houthi rebel sites in Yemen.
  • ** The Liberal Democrats, Scottish National Party and Plaid Cymru call for a recall of parliament to enable a vote on RAF involvement in the air strikes, since Parliament had already risen for the weekend when Sunak authorised the UK's participation.
  • * Data from the Office for National Statistics indicates the UK economy grew by 0.3% in November 2023, having retracted by the same amount the previous month, meaning the UK avoided going into recession, although the risk of doing so remains.
  • * The government defends spending £27,000 replenishing its wine cellar during the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • * Sunak announces a further £2.5bn in military aid for Ukraine during 2024.
  • * British Post Office scandal:
  • ** The BBC reports that Post Office managers threatened and lied to the broadcaster in an attempt to conceal key evidence ahead of the broadcast of the 2015 Panorama documentary that brought the Horizon IT scandal to public attention.
  • ** Financial experts estimate the Post Office may have underpaid £100m in tax because of how it declared compensation payments to victims of the Horizon IT scandal.
  • 13 January
  • * Thousands of people join a pro-Palestinian march in London calling for a ceasefire in Gaza due to the ongoing Gaza war.
  • * A fleet of electric buses are withdrawn in South London after a fire starts on the 200 hybrid electric bus on 11 January.
  • * A new biography of King Charles III by Daily Mail royal correspondent Robert Hardman says that a memo written by Queen Elizabeth II's private secretary, Sir Edward Young, reports that the Queen's final moments in September 2022 were "very peaceful".
  • * Five cross-Channel migrants, the first seen in 2024, arrive in a Border Force boat in Kent after being picked up while crossing from France.
  • 14 January
  • * Five people die when a small boat overturns in French waters as around 70 people try to board it in an attempt to migrate across the English Channel to the UK.
  • * Thousands of people attend a pro-Israel rally in London to mark 100 days since the 7 October attack and call for the release of all hostages from Gaza.
  • * Six people are arrested over a plot by the protest group Palestine Action to disrupt the London Stock Exchange.
  • * Ronnie O'Sullivan wins the 2024 Masters after beating Ali Carter, making him both the youngest and oldest winner in the tournament's history. He won his first title in the 1995 Masters when he was 19 years old. 29 years later, he wins his eighth at the age of 48.
  • 15 January
  • * The portrait of King Charles III for use on public buildings, such as courts and government offices is unveiled.
  • * Another week of strike action is announced by the ASLEF train drivers union, to run from Tuesday 30 January until Monday 5 February.
  • * The Home Office announces that it will proscribe the radical Islamist group Hizb ut-Tahrir as a terrorist organisation, accused of praising the Hamas attacks.
  • * A review into investigations conducted by Greater Manchester Police between 2004 and 2019 finds that girls were "left at the mercy" of paedophile grooming gangs for several years because of failings by senior police and council bosses.
  • * Alison Phillips confirms she will stand down as editor of the Daily Mirror at the end of January, having been in the role since 2018.
  • 16 January
  • * Schools are closed and commuters face disruption following snowfall across parts of the UK.
  • * Lee Anderson and Brendan Clarke-Smith resign their positions as Deputy Chairmen of the Conservative Party, after saying they would back rebel amendments on the Rwanda bill. Jane Stevenson also resigns as a Parliamentary Private Secretary so she can vote for the amendment.
  • * British brothers Stewart and Louis Ahearne are sentenced to three and a half years in prison by a court in Switzerland for their part in a 2019 robbery of Ming dynasty art from a museum in Geneva.
  • * The Met Office issues a warning for what is expected to be the coldest January night since 2010. Temperatures fall to −14 °C in parts of Scotland, while the following night is the coldest of the winter for many places.
  • * Giving evidence to the inquiry into the Post Office scandal, Paul Patterson, the chief executive of Fujitsu Europe, says the company has a "moral obligation" to contribute to compensation for sub-postmasters wrongly prosecuted as a result of its faulty IT software, and apologises for the impact the scandal had on those affected by it.
  • 17 January
  • * Data from the Office for National Statistics shows a slight increase in inflation for December 2023, with a rise to 4% compared to 3.9% in November.
  • * Broadcaster and football executive Eniola Aluko threatens to take legal action after receiving online abuse from footballer Joey Barton.
  • * Buckingham Palace confirms that King Charles III is to undergo surgery for an enlarged prostate, while Catherine, Princess of Wales is in hospital for abdominal surgery, keeping them away from public engagements for a while.
  • * The current session of the 7th Northern Ireland Assembly is suspended following the failure of Democratic Unionist Party to support nominations to elect Mike Nesbitt or Patsy McGlone to the role of Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly.
  • * The Safety of Rwanda Bill passes its third reading in the House of Commons with MPs voting 320–276 in favour of the bill.
  • 18 January
  • * The UK Statistics Authority rebukes the prime minister for misleading the public over the backlog of asylum applications, which he said in a social media post had been cleared, while several thousand still remained. The UKSA says the allegation could have affected public trust in the government.
  • * A newborn girl is found in a shopping bag in Newham, London. It is thought that she was less than an hour old when she was found.
  • * The legal deadline to form a Northern Ireland Executive. On the same day, over 150,000 public sector workers stage a general strike across Northern Ireland.
  • 19 January
  • * The Met Office issues a warning for high winds and heavy rain ahead of the arrival of Storm Isha.
  • * Tata Steel confirms it is cutting 2,800 jobs. It will close its blast furnaces at Port Talbot and replace them with an electric arc furnace, which produces less CO2 but requires fewer workers.
  • * The bodies of four people are found at a house in Costessey, near Norwich. All four people are believed to have been known to each other.
  • * Prince Harry withdraws his libel claim against Associated Newspapers, publisher of the Mail on Sunday, over an article concerning his security arrangements during a visit to the UK.
  • * A senior civil servant at the Department for Work and Pensions tells MPs that the UK government has stopped suspending Universal Credit claims flagged up as suspicious by an artificial intelligence fraud detector.
  • * The European Court of Human Rights announces that Ireland launched legal action against the United Kingdom on 17 January over the Northern Ireland Troubles Act 2023 that gives amnesty to all those accused of killings during the Troubles.
  • 20 January
  • * A Royal Navy investigation is launched following a collision between the British warships HMS Chiddingfold and HMS Bangor at a port in Bahrain.
  • * A speech to the Fabian Society conference by Shadow Foreign Secretary David Lammy is interrupted by pro-Palestinian protestors.
  • 21 January
  • * Weather alerts, including two amber warnings, are issued for the entire UK as Storm Isha brings winds of up to 99 mph.
  • * A technical fault prevents some Tesco grocery orders from being fulfilled.
  • * A spokesman for Sarah, Duchess of York confirms she has been diagnosed with melanoma following the removal of a cancerous mole during treatment for breast cancer, and is undergoing further investigation. She is the third member of the royal family to undergo a medical procedure in under a week.
  • 22 January
  • * Two deaths are reported in the aftermath of Storm Isha, while tens of thousands of homes remain without power, and transport services face ongoing disruption. A new storm – Storm Jocelyn – is expected to hit parts of the UK tomorrow.
  • * After the Royal Mail proposes that its deliveries should be made from Monday to Friday only, Downing Street states that the government would not support such a move, with the Prime Minister expressing a view that Saturday deliveries provide "flexibility and convenience".
  • * Consultancy firm Cornwall Insight forecasts that energy bills will fall by 16% in April, saving the average household around £300 a year.
  • * The UK and US launch fresh air strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen.
  • * The UK's Charity Commission launches an investigation into antisemitic speeches given by members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard to students at a UK-based Islamic charity, which included chants of "death to Israel".
  • 23 January
  • * Data from the Office for National Statistics indicates government borrowing in December was at £7.8bn, a fall from £16.2bn in December 2022, and the lowest since 2019.
  • * Sunak tells Parliament the UK will not hesitate to launch further air strikes against Houthi rebels if they continue to attack shipping targets in the Red Sea, but does not seek confrontation with the group.
  • * Most of the UK is placed under a Met Office yellow weather warning for high winds as Storm Jocelyn arrives.
  • * 2023 Nottingham attacks: Valdo Calocane admits three counts of manslaughter and three of attempted murder.
  • 24 January
  • * Sir Patrick Sanders, the Chief of the General Staff, warns that the UK should train a "citizen army" ready to fight a war on land in the future, highlighting Russia as a potential threat and the steps being taken by other European countries to put their populations on a "war footing".
  • * Ofcom publish plans to reform Royal Mail with the options of reducing postal deliveries from six to five or three days a week, or delaying the time the service takes to fulfil its deliveries.
  • * Andy Street, the Mayor of the West Midlands, announces that he and his Manchester counterpart, Andy Burnham, are to meet Mark Harper, the Secretary of State for Transport, to discuss proposals for a privately funded alternative to the abandoned Manchester leg of HS2.
  • * The UK is to lend several pieces of the Ghana crown jewels back to Ghana 150 years after looting them from the court of the Asante king.
  • 25 January
  • * The UK government announces fresh plans to ban the sale of zombie knives, with legislation taking effect from the autumn.
  • * Lloyds Banking Group announces plans to cut around 1,600 positions from its branch staff in a reorganisation that it says is because more customers are banking online.
  • 26 January
  • * Buckingham Palace confirms that King Charles III has been admitted to hospital for treatment for an enlarged prostate.
  • * Jürgen Klopp, currently the longest-serving manager in the Premier League, announces he is departing as manager of Liverpool F.C. after the conclusion of the 2023–24 season, and taking a break from football management.
  • 27 January
  • * The UK government suspends funding for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, after the organisation sacked several officials reported to have been involved in the 7 October attacks on Israel.
  • * Kemi Badenoch, the business secretary, asks Henry Staunton to step down as chair of Post Office Limited after 13 months in the role, as the government moves to strengthen governance at the Post Office in the wake of the long-running Horizon IT scandal.
  • * John Lewis & Partners announce further cuts to the number of its staff over the coming five years, with The Guardian reporting up to 11,000 jobs could go.
  • * The British Association of Dermatologists warns against the use of skincare products by children as young as eight, saying that to do so could leave them with irreversible skin damage.
  • 28 January
  • * The hottest UK temperature in January is provisionally recorded by the Met Office, with a peak of 19.6 °C at Kinlochewe, Scottish Highlands, more than a degree higher than the previous record in 2003.
  • * The UK government announces plans to ban disposable vapes in an attempt to tackle the growing number of children taking up vaping.
  • 29 January
  • * The King and the Princess of Wales are both discharged from hospital.
  • * Laurence Fox loses a High Court libel case with social media users he called paedophiles.
  • * Reporting on cases in family courts in England and Wales is extended to a further 16 venues following a trial at three locations.
  • * A University College London study of five cases of Alzheimer's disease suggests they could have been caused by a treatment in which the patients were injected with growth hormones from dead people, a treatment that was withdrawn in the mid-1980s.
  • 30 January
  • * Lucy Letby has her initial request for permission to appeal against seven murder convictions and six attempted murder convictions refused by the Court of Appeal.
  • * HSBC is fined £57.4m by the Bank of England for "serious failings" over its measures to protect customer deposits.
  • * The ONS publishes its latest forecast of UK population, suggesting that the number of people in the UK could rise from 67 to 73.7 million by 2036, driven by strong immigration.
  • 31 January
  • * Post-Brexit controls on food, plant and animal imports to Britain from the EU come into force.
  • * 2024 Northern Ireland Executive Formation: Details of a deal between the UK government and the Democratic Unionist Party to restore devolution in Northern Ireland are published.
  • * Nine people, including three police officers, are taken to hospital following an attack using what is described as a "corrosive substance" on a car in Clapham, south west London. The suspect is named as Abdul Shakoor Ezedi, a 35-year-old man from the "Newcastle area".