4 January – Mark Cahill, a 51-year-old former pub landlord from West Yorkshire becomes the first person in the UK to receive a hand transplant.[2]
10 January – April Casburn, a senior detective with the Metropolitan Police is found guilty of trying to sell information on the investigation into phone hacking to the News of the World, the newspaper at the centre of the scandal.[3] On 1 February she is jailed for fifteen months.[4]
22 January – a death sentence handed to British citizen Lindsay Sandiford by an Indonesian court for drug smuggling is condemned by the UK government.[8]
30 January – Tony McCluskie is found guilty of the March 2012 murder of his sister, the actress Gemma McCluskie and jailed for life with a recommendation he serve a minimum term of 20 years.[10]
28 February – the Eastleigh by-election, triggered by the resignation of Chris Huhne, sees the Liberal Democrats hold the seat despite a UKIP surge that pushes the Conservatives into third place.[17]
Psychiatric patient Nicola Edgington, who stabbed a woman to death six years after killing her mother is jailed for life with a minimum of 37 years.[20]
11 March – Chris Huhne and Vicky Pryce are each jailed for eight months for perverting the course of justice.[26]
14 March
Prime Minister David Cameron says talks between himself and the leaders of the UK's other main political parties on the recommendations of the Leveson report have broken down and that he intends to publish a Royal Charter on press regulation.[27]
Labour Party peer Lord Ahmed is suspended from the party after claiming a conspiracy by Jewish-owned media organisations was responsible for his imprisonment for dangerous driving.[28]
18 March – the final BBC news bulletins are transmitted from Television Centre, after 43 years of occupying the building, as the corporation moves its entire news operation to Broadcasting House in central London.[31]
A teenage girl is found dead by police at a house in the Atherton area of Greater Manchester where four "out of control" dogs are subsequently put down. Police said her injuries are consistent with those of a dog attack.[35] She is named the following day as 14-year-old Jade Anderson.[36]
8 April – former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcherdies in London following a stroke.[38][39] Street parties are held in a number of cities across the UK to "celebrate".[40][41]
Thatcher's horse drawn hearse
9 April – six days after being appointed as Britain's first Youth Police and Crime Commissioner, Paris Brown steps down from the role after controversy over postings she made on Twitter.[42]
10 April – "Ding-Dong! The Witch Is Dead" charts at number 10 in the Official Midweek Charts as opponents of former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher have been buying copies of the song following her death two days earlier.[43]
23 April – businessman James McCormick is convicted on three counts of fraud at the Old Bailey after selling fake bomb detectors based on a device for finding golf balls to countries including Iraq and Georgia.[46]
8 May – Sir Alex Ferguson, the most successful manager in English football during his 27 years as manager of Manchester United, announces his retirement after the end of the Premier League season later in the month.[50]
9 May – David Moyes, who has managed Everton for 11 years during which they have qualified for European competitions on five occasions, is announced as the successor to Sir Alex Ferguson.[51]
13 May – Stuart Hazell, 38, admits the murder of Tia Sharp, 12-year-old granddaughter of his partner Christine Sharp, who was found dead in New Addington, London, nine months ago. His murder trial began six days ago but he has previously denied the charge against him.
14 May
The Conservative Party publishes a draft European Union (Referendum) Bill aimed at holding a referendum on Britain's membership of the European Union by 2017. Prime Minister David Cameron had previously said a referendum would be held if he could renegotiate the terms of Britain's EU membership, but Tory MPs have been unhappy that legislation for a referendum was not included in the recent Queen's Speech.[52]
Stuart Hazell is sentenced to life imprisonment at the Old Bailey with a recommended minimum term of 38 years.
15 May
In the House of Commons, an amendment to the Queen's Speech expressing regret that it did not contain legislation for a referendum on Britain's EU membership is defeated 277–131.[53]
MPs debate government proposals to tighten the law governing dangerous dogs following the death of Jade Anderson in March. The legislation would give police greater powers to deal with attacks on private property.[54]
16 May – UKIP leader Nigel Farage is heckled by angry protesters during a campaign visit to Edinburgh.[55]
22 May – murder of Lee Rigby in Woolwich: off-duty British soldier Fusilier Lee Rigby, a former drummer serving with 2nd Battalion the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, is killed in the street. Two men carrying knives and a meat cleaver are subsequently apprehended by police. The government treats the killing as a terrorist incident.[57] The victim's identity is confirmed the following day.[58]
24 May – a 24-year-old zoo worker is seriously injured after being attacked by a Sumatran tiger at South Lakes Wild Animal Park in Cumbria.[59] Sarah McClay subsequently dies in hospital as a result of her injuries. Police launch an investigation into the attack.[60]
25 May – 48 people are rescued from a boat which begins taking on water after colliding with a rock off the coast of Pembrokeshire.[61]
30 May – a court in Mold, Wales, finds Mark Bridger guilty of abducting and murdering five-year-old April Jones in October 2012. The trial judge recommends that 47-year-old Bridger should never be released from prison. The body of April Jones has not been found.[62]
2 June – two British Labour Party peers are suspended by their party after allegations they offered to undertake Parliamentary work in exchange for payment. A third peer, from the Ulster Unionist Party resigns the whip following the allegations.[64]
20 June – Four Conservative MPs Christopher Chope, Peter Bone, Philip Hollobone camped outside Parliament in a move to facilitate parliamentary debate on an 'Alternative Queen's Speech' – an attempt to show what a future Conservative government might deliver.[69] 42 policies were listed including reintroduction of the death penalty and conscription, the privatisation of the BBC, banning the burka in public places, holding a referendum on same-sex marriage and preparing to leave the European Union.[69]
Ed Miliband says he will end the automatic "affiliation" fee paid by three million union members to the Labour Party after the Unite union was accused of secretly signing up its members to get its favoured candidate elected in the Falkirk constituency.[74]
A man who posted threats to kill 200 people on social networking site Facebook leading to school closures in the US state of Tennessee is jailed for 28 months at Newcastle Crown Court.[75]
The option of imposing a whole life tariff for the worst murders in England and Wales is ruled illegal by the European Court of Human Rights following a legal challenge by three convicted murderers serving such sentences. They are Jeremy Bamber, Douglas Vinter and Peter Moore, who are among a group of at least 49 prisoners in England and Wales serving such sentences. The sentence is not an option in Scotland.[76]
12 July – the funeral of murdered fusilier Lee Rigby takes place in Bury; attendees include Prime Minister David Cameron.[78]
13 July – two soldiers die during a training exercise on the Brecon Beacons on one of the hottest days of the year. The Ministry of Defence works with Dyfed-Powys Police to investigate.[79] On 30 July a third soldier dies in hospital.[80]
15 July – the House of Lords approves the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill, enabling gay marriages to take place in England and Wales from 2014.[81]
16 July – Health SecretaryJeremy Hunt announces that eleven hospitals will be placed in special measures because of major failings.[82]
17 July
Rising temperatures led to heat health warnings being issued for Southern England and the Midlands in the UK's first prolonged heatwave since 2006.[83]
The Duchess of Cambridge with her newborn babyPrime Minister David Cameron announces plans for every household in the UK to have pornography automatically blocked by their internet provider unless they choose otherwise. The possession of online material depicting rape will also become illegal in England and Wales, bringing them into line with current Scottish legislation.[85]
The UK records its hottest day since July 2006, with 33.5C (92.3F) recorded at Heathrow and Northolt in west London.[86]
Home Office "Go Home" vans begin to tour areas of London with high immigrant populations.[87]
1 August – temperatures of 33.7C are recorded at Heathrow Airport and 34.1 in London – the hottest since 2006 – as the hot weather makes a brief return. The Met Office says it is the hottest day since 2003 and the warmest summer since 2006.[93]
2 August – Magdelena Luczak and her partner, Mariusz Krezolek, are jailed for life with a minimum of 30 years for the murder of Luczak's four-year-old son Daniel Pelka, who was beaten, and starved to death.[94]
3 August – Tony Wang, head of Twitter, apologises after women received bombing and rape threats by users of the site. The apology comes as the company updates its rules to help clamp down on threats and harassment.[95]
5 August – the world's first lab-grown burger – produced from bovine stem cells – is cooked and eaten at a news conference in London.[96]
6 August – it is reported that sewage workers from Thames Water have removed a fifteen ton bus-sized "fatberg" – thought to be Britain's largest – from a sewer beneath London, after the mass caused a 95% blockage and threatened to send raw sewage spurting from manhole covers.[97]
7 August – Bank of England governor Mark Carney says the Bank will not consider raising interest rates until the unemployment rate has fallen to 7% or below.[98]
10 August – 56 police officers are injured in Belfast after a night of loyalist rioting.[99]
11 August – two women who are UK nationals have been arrested on suspicion of smuggling drugs from Peru, the country's police confirm.[100]
19 August
Senior politicians urge police to explain why the partner of a Guardian journalist who published leaked documents from US whistleblower Edward Snowden was detained at Heathrow Airport for nine hours.[101]
Green MP Caroline Lucas and her son are among protesters arrested at a site in West Sussex where energy firm Cuadrilla is drilling for oil.[102]
Chief executive of the UK Independence Party, Will Gilpin steps down from his post.[103]
20 August – Britons Michaella McCollum and Melissa Reid are formally charged with attempting to smuggle £1.5m worth of cocaine out of Peru.[104][105] They are remanded in custody the following day.[106]
21 August – an inspection report reveals that a female inmate at HMP Bronzefield was kept in solitary confinement for more than five years.[107]
22 August – Yes Scotland is forced to close its computer systems after being hacked by "forces unknown". Police Scotland's Digital Forensic Unit launches an investigation but uncovers no evidence of criminality.[108]
23 August – a Super Puma L2 helicopter crashes near Sumburgh Airport in the Shetland Islands, resulting in four fatalities among the oil rig workers being carried. Operation of the helicopter model is globally suspended.[109]
MPs vote 285–272 against the principle of British involvement in any military intervention in the Syrian conflict.[111]
Members of the Fire Brigades Union vote to take industrial action in a dispute over pensions, threatening the first firefighters' strike across England, Scotland and Wales since 2002.[112]
5 September – sixty people are injured as more than 130 vehicles are involved in a series of crashes in thick fog on the Sheppey Crossing in Kent.[114]
7 September – a man is arrested on suspicion of burglary, trespass and criminal damage after scaling a fence to get into Buckingham Palace.[115]
11 September – Conservative Party chairman Grant Shapps writes to the UN Secretary General demanding an explanation after a UN official criticised housing benefit changes as a "disgrace".[117]
20 September – UKIP withdraws the party whip from MEP Godfrey Bloom after he referred to female activists as "sluts" during his party's annual conference.[118]
24 September – at its annual conference, Labour leader Ed Miliband says that if elected in 2015, his party would freeze energy prices for their first 20 months in office.[119]
25 September
Firefighters in England and Wales stage a four-hour strike in a dispute over changes to their pensions.[120]
3 October – The Mail on Sunday editor Geordie Greig issues an unreserved apology to Ed Miliband after a reporter was sent to a private memorial service for one of his relatives in an attempt to gather opinions from his family about a recent Daily Mail article that had accused the Labour Leader's late father, Ralph of hating Britain. Two reporters are suspended as a result of the incident.[123]
7 October – launch of the National Crime Agency, a new body designed to tackle some of Britain's most serious crimes.[124]
8 October
Banks begin to unveil details of the mortgages they will offer under the government's expanded Help to Buy scheme.[125]
10 October – Justice Minister Jeremy Wright confirms that former Liberian President Charles Taylor will serve his jail sentence for war crimes in the UK.[128]
11 October – the UK government publishes a draft Royal Charter aimed at underpinning self-regulation of the press following an agreement by the three main political parties. However, the proposals are greeted with concerns about press freedom by the industry.[129] Proposals put forward by the press has previously been rejected by the Privy council.[130]
15 October – Charles Taylor arrives in the UK to serve the remainder of his 50-year prison sentence, the first head of state to be convicted of war crimes since World War II.[131]
18 October – a planned firefighters strike in England and Wales for the following day is called off at the eleventh hour, following progress in talks over pensions.[132]
20 October – about 100 homes are damaged when a "tornado" hits Hayling Island in Hampshire.[134]
21 October – the government approves Hinkley Point C, the first nuclear plant to be constructed in the UK since 1995. Originally due to be completed in 2023, completion is now due in 2028. The plant is intended to remain operational for 60 years, supplying about 7% of the country's electricity.[135]
22 October – former Prime Minister Sir John Major calls for the government to levy a windfall tax on Britain's energy companies after three of the six major gas and electricity suppliers raise their prices by between eight and ten percent.[136]
23 October – Prime Minister David Cameron announces a review of green energy taxes after saying they had pushed up household bills to "unacceptable" levels.[137]
28 October – St Judes Day storm: 99 mph gust recorded at the Needles on the Isle of Wight
30 October – the Privy council grants a Royal charter on press regulations after the newspaper industry loses a last minute legal bid to seek an injunction against the plans.[139]
1 November – firefighters in England and Wales stage a four and a half-hour strike in a row over pension ages, as "contingency" crews battle a large scrapyard blaze in London.[140]
14 November – the last living British person to be born in the 1800s, Grace Jones, dies aged 113.[141]
Former non-executive chairman of the Co-operative Bank Paul Flowers is arrested by police in a drugs supply investigation, having been exposed agreeing to buy cocaine and methamphetamine by The Mail on Sunday newspaper. Flowers is also suspended from the Labour Party and Methodist Church as a result of the allegations.[144]
It is reported that three women believed to have been held as slaves for the last three decades were rescued from a residence in London on 25 October.[145]
23 November – The fiftieth anniversary of science fiction TV series Doctor Who is celebrated with the broadcast and cinema screenings of the anniversary special The Day of the Doctor[146]Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon launch the Scottish independence White Paper
27 November – following a trial at Northampton Crown Court, businessman Anxiang Du is convicted of the 2011 murder of a family of four in a revenge attack after losing a legal case against them.[148]
29 November – eight people are killed and 19 seriously injured after a police helicopter crashes into The Clutha pub in Glasgow.[149]
4 December – pig semen exports from Britain to China are the subject of a protocol signed in Beijing by Environment Secretary Owen Paterson as part of a trade mission that includes the Prime Minister, David Cameron. The Chinese wish to improve their semen stock from boars in England and Northern Ireland.[150][151]
5 December – Cyclone Bodil hits the UK, Netherlands, Denmark and Germany, disrupting traffic and causing widespread damage amid fears of flooding along the North Sea coast.[152]
15 December – Andy Murray wins BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2013.[153]
16 December – Home Secretary Theresa May announces draft legislation to introduce tougher prison sentences for people convicted of offences relating to human trafficking.[154]
19 December – part of the ornate ceiling of the Apollo Theatre in London collapses during a performance, injuring at least 81 people in the audience.[155]
20 December – following a trial at Isleworth Crown Court, sisters Elisabetta and Francesca Grillo, who worked as personal assistants to food writer Nigella Lawson and her husband Charles Saatchi for several years, are found not guilty on charges of stealing from the couple.[156]
23 December
Former MP Denis MacShane is sentenced to six months in jail for expenses fraud after he admitted to submitting 19 false receipts totalling £12,900.[157]
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