2007 In The United Kingdom

Events from the year 2007 in the United Kingdom.

Incumbents

*Monarch – Elizabeth II
*Prime Minister
**Tony Blair ( Labour) (until 27 June)
**Gordon Brown ( Labour) (from 27 June)
*Parliament – 54th

Events

January

* 1 January – Doctor Who spin-off The Sarah Jane Adventures airs starring Elisabeth Sladen as Sarah Jane Smith.
* 3 January
** National Express coach accident: A National Express coach from London Heathrow Airport to Aberdeen, Scotland crashes on a slip road between the M4 and the M25, killing two people and injuring thirty-six others. On 4 January, in response, National Express withdraw all 12 of their Neoplan Skyliner double-decker coaches as a precaution.
**'' Celebrity Big Brother 5'' is launched on Channel 4, with celebrities such as Jermaine Jackson, Dirk Benedict and Leo Sayer.
* 5 January
** The England cricket team loses the fifth Ashes test in Sydney, Australia by 10 wickets, resulting in a 5–0 series whitewash, the first time this has occurred since the 1920–1921 Ashes Tour.
**Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy: Umran Javed, a British Muslim, is found guilty at the Old Bailey, London, of inciting racial hatred at a London rally in February 2006 protesting against the publication of a cartoon in a Danish newspaper depicting Muhammad.
* 7 January
**Bristol International Airport closes its runway due to concerns by various airlines (including easyJet and BA Connect) over the safety of landing in wet weather. This follows two days of nine airlines refusing to use the runway.
**Laura Pearce becomes the first contestant on Channel 4 television show '' Deal or No Deal'' to win the top prize of £250,000 since the start of the show on 31 October 2005. It took until the 351st attempt for the top prize to be won.
* 9 January – New rules outlawing businesses from discriminating against homosexuals are held in the House of Lords, after a failed challenge by Lord Morrow of the Democratic Unionist Party.
* 10–28 January – John Reid faces mounting problems continuing from those of his predecessors including further prisoner escapes especially from open prisons and also absconding of those under Control Orders and missing sex offenders.
* 10 January – Two military helicopters collide in mid-air near Market Drayton, Shropshire, killing one person and injuring three others.
* 11 January – In an unexpected move, the Bank of England raises interest rates to 5.25%, an increase of 0.25%. This is the third rise in five months, after a year of stability.
* 16 January – At the 64th Golden Globe Awards, Helen Mirren wins an award for her portrayal of Elizabeth II in ''The Queen'' and Sacha Baron Cohen for his role in '' Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan''. Other British winners are Hugh Laurie in '' House'' and Jeremy Irons in ''Elizabeth I''.
* 17 January
**It is announced that methamphetamine – otherwise known as crystal meth – will be reclassified to a Class A drug, to avert widespread use of the drug.
**Protests are held in India and the UK against the British series of ''Celebrity Big Brother'' after Jade Goody, Danielle Lloyd and Jo O'Meara are alleged to be racially abusive to Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty.
* 18 January – The UK is hit by torrential rain and gale-force winds, part of European storm '' Kyrill'', resulting in the deaths of at least nine people and causing havoc to public transport and electricity supplies.
* 20 January – The British-registered container ship ''MSC Napoli'', abandoned in storm ''Kyrill'', is deliberately grounded to prevent it sinking, leading to concern about environmental damage to Branscombe beach in Devon.
* 26 January – News International phone hacking scandal: The '' News of the World's'' royal editor Clive Goodman is jailed for four months having pleaded guilty to phone message interception charges.
* 27 January – The final edition of '' Grandstand'', the flagship BBC
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