2009 in the United Kingdom

Events from the year 2009 in the United Kingdom.

Incumbents

*Monarch – Elizabeth II
*Prime Minister – Gordon Brown ( Labour)
*Parliament – 54th

Events

January

* 1 January – A British soldier from 6th Battalion The Rifles, later named by the Ministry of Defence as Sergeant Christopher Reed, is killed in an explosion in Southern Afghanistan. This takes the total number of British forces to die in the conflict to 138.
* 2 January – ''Celebrity Big Brother'' returns to Channel 4 for the first time since 2007 following the racism controversy that dominated that year's show. Participants include La Toya Jackson, Verne Troyer and Ulrika Jonsson.
* 5 January
**Cold weather consisting of snow and freezing temperatures causes widespread disruption across the UK. Travel routes are severely affected including roads and railways, in addition to Luton and Birmingham airports. The weather also leads to the closure of many schools which were due to return after the Christmas break.
** Waterford Wedgwood, makers of the famous Wedgwood pottery, enter administration.
* 6 January
**The cold weather affecting the UK continues to cause widespread disruption across the country. The continued freezing temperatures lead to millions of people becoming eligible for cold weather payments from the government.
**The closure of Woolworths is completed across the UK, having started at the end of December, spelling an end to 100 years of the retail chain. The company was placed into administration in November 2008, with its 813 stores gradually being phased out. More than 27,000 jobs have been lost as a result of the company's collapse.
* 7 January
**Marks & Spencer announce they are to close 25 of their Simply Food stores and cut 1,230 jobs, after they announce pre-Christmas like-for-like sales fell by 7.1%.
** England Cricket Captain, Kevin Pietersen resigns after months of rows with England manager, Peter Moores. Moores is sacked from his job by the England and Wales Cricket Board. Andrew Strauss is named as the new Captain.
**There is more bad news for the economy as new car sales for 2008 are reported to have fallen to a 12-year low of just over 2.1 million.
* 8 January – The Bank of England cuts its base interest rate to 1.5% amid the global economic downturn, the lowest it has been in the bank's 300-year history.
*11 January
**The '' News of the World'' reports that HRH Prince Harry has been filmed using racist language towards a Pakistani member of his army platoon. Prince Harry swiftly apologised amid widespread condemnation.
**A Royal Marine from 45 Commando, later named by the Ministry of Defence as Marine Travis Mackin, is killed in an explosion in Southern Afghanistan. This takes the total number of British forces to die in the conflict to 139.
*12 January – At the 66th Golden Globe Awards, British actress Kate Winslet wins two awards, Best Actress (Motion Picture Drama) and Best Supporting Actress (Motion Picture); while British film ''Slumdog Millionaire'' wins all four of the awards for which it was nominated.
*14 January
**The government unveils a £20 billion loan guarantee scheme for small and medium-sized business amid the global financial crisis. On the same day, Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, appoints former banker Mervyn Davies as the new Trade and Investment Minister.
**Two British service personnel, a soldier from 29th Commando Regiment Royal Artillery, later named by the Ministry of Defence as Captain Tom Sawyer, and a marine from 45 Commando, later named as Marine Danny Winter, are killed in an explosion in southern Afghanistan. This takes the total number of British forces to die in the conflict to 141.
*15 January
**Approval is granted for the building of the controversial third runway and sixth terminal at Heathrow Airport. As part of the decision, the Secretary of State for Transport, Geoff Hoon, announces restrictions on aircraft using the third runway that are designed to limit noise pollution and carbon dioxide emissions, alongside proposals for a high-speed rail hub, also located at Heathrow.
**John McDonnell, Labour MP for Hayes and Harlington, the constituency which includes Heathrow Airport, is suspended from Parliament after picking up the ceremonial House of Commons mace in protest at the government's approval of a third runway.
*16 January – The Financial Services Authority lifts the ban on the short selling of stocks in UK financial sector companies.
*17 January – A British soldier from 1st Battalion The Rifles, later named as Corporal Richard Robinson, is killed by enemy fire in southern Afghanistan. This takes the total number of British forces to die in the conflict to 142.
*19 January
** Lloyds TSB completes the acquisition of the Halifax Bank of Scotland group, to form the Lloyds Banking Group.
**The government announces further assistance for the banking sector, the second of the current financial crisis. Measures announced include the government insuring bad debts and increasing its stake in Royal Bank of Scotland. The measures made little impact on the stock market, with banking stocks falling across the board.
**The Royal Bank of Scotland announces it expects to have to write down assets totalling around £20 billion, believed to be the biggest lose in British corporate history. The announcement sees RBS' share price plunge 67% on the day.
*20 January – The Office for National Statistics announces that the Consumer Price Index (CPI), the UK's main measure of inflation, has fallen by 1% from 4.1% to 3.1% since November 2008. Over the same time period, the Retail Prices Index, an alternative measure of inflation, fell by 2.1% from 3.0% to 0.9%, the biggest fall in 28 years.
*21 January – Statistics released by the Office for National Statistics show that the number of unemployed people in the UK has risen to more than 1.9 million, the highest level since late 1996.
*22 January – The Disasters Emergency Committee of UK charities launches its Gaza Crisis Appeal following the recent conflict in the region. The BBC causes controversy by saying it will not be broadcasting the appeal as it would compromise its impartiality.
*23 January
**The Office for National Statistics announces that the United Kingdom's economy is officially in recession for the first time since 1991. The economy has now suffered three successive quarters of contraction, with the final quarter of last year seeing the economy shrink by 1.8% – one of the worst quarterly detractions since records began.
** Karen Matthews and Michael Donavon are sentenced to eight years in prison for the kidnap of Shannon Matthews, the former's daughter, having held her captive in Donvon's flat in Dewsbury last year as part of a bid to claim £50,000 for her "safe return" after reporting her missing to the police.
** Jonathan Ross returns to television after serving a three-month suspension from the BBC following the row over prank telephone calls made to Andrew Sachs.
*24 January – Two climbers from Northern Ireland and another from Scotland are killed in an avalanche on Buachaille Etive Mòr in the Highlands of Scotland. Five others walk away uninjured, whilst another suffers a shoulder injury.
*25 January – ''The Sunday Times'' publishes allegations that four Labour members of the House of Lords are willing to accept money to table amendments to legislation.
*26 January – Possession of 'extreme pornography' becomes illegal under the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008.
*28 January
**The International Monetary Fund projects that the UK economy will shrink by 2.8% in the forthcoming year, the biggest drop in any advanced nation.
**Hundreds of workers strike at the Lindsay Oil Refinery in Lincolnshire in protest at the hiring of foreign construction workers at the site, despite rising unemployment in the UK.
**Sir Paul Stephenson takes office as Metropolitan Police Commissioner.
*30 January
** 2009 Lindsey Oil Refinery strikes: Workers at around a dozen energy sites across the UK walk out in support of the workers at the Lindsey refinery, who walked out two days ago over the hiring of foreign workers.
**A British soldier from 1st Battalion The Rifles, later named as Corporal Daniel Nield, is killed in a firefight in Southern Afghanistan. This takes the total number of British forces to die in the conflict to 143.

February

*1 February – Three day state visit of Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao begins; pro-Tibet protestors staged a demonstration outside the Chinese embassy in London.
*2 February
** Heavy snow falls overnight across large parts of the country, causing widespread disruption. It is the heaviest snowfall in the UK for eighteen years. Many roads are blocked in the morning rush hour, whilst train services are disrupted and many airport runways closed. Transport for London suspends all London buses, and the London Underground is also severely disrupted. Meanwhile, thousands of schools are forced to close due to the adverse weather conditions.
**Contractors at the Sellafield and Heysham nuclear plants walk out in the ongoing unofficial strike action over foreign workers.
*3 February – Adverse weather conditions continue to cause widespread disruption to education and transport in large parts of England.
*5 February
**Further heavy snow in parts of England and Wales cause fresh school closures and travel disruption.
**The Halifax reports a rise in house prices of 1.9% in January. However, it also reported that, on average, the price of a house fell by 17.2% in the 12 months since January 2008.
**Workers participating in unofficial strikes over the use of foreign workers agree to return to work after a compromise deal is struck by Acas.
**The Bank of England reduces the base rate of interest by 0.5% to 1.0%, the fifth reduction since October 2008.
**Undefeated boxing champion Joe Calzaghe announces his retirement from the sport after 46 fights over more than 15 years.
*8 February – At the 62nd British Academy Film Awards, the 'BAFTAs', British drama ''Slumdog Millionaire'' wins seven awards, including Best Film and Best Director for Danny Boyle. British actress Kate Winslet also wins the award for Best Leading Actress for her performance in '' The Reader''.
*9 February – Chelsea F.C. manager Luiz Felipe Scolari is sacked by the club's board after results deteriorate "at a key time in the season". It comes just hours after fellow Premier League manager, Tony Adams of Portsmouth F.C., is sacked, again after a poor run of results.
*10 February – The former chief executives of the two British banks hit hardest by the recent banking crisis, Fred Goodwin of Royal Bank of Scotland and Andy Hornby of HBOS, apologise "profoundly and unreservedly" for their respective banks' failure in an evidence session with the Treasury Select Committee.
*11 February
**The Metropolitan Police announced they will not launch an investigation into the recent Cash for Influence scandal in the House of Lords.
**The Deputy Chairman of the Financial Services Authority, Sir James Crosby, resigns amid allegations that, whilst chief executive of HBOS, he dismissed a senior manager who raised concerns that the bank was exposed to too much risk.
**Four people, including two teenage air cadets, are killed in a mid-air collision between two light aircraft over the Welsh coast.
**The Office for National Statistics announced that UK unemployment has risen to 1.97 million, an increase of 146,000 in the last three months.
*12 February – A British soldier serving in Iraq, later named as Private Ryan Wrathall, dies in what the Ministry of Defence described as a 'shooting incident'. This takes the total number of British forces to die in the conflict to 179, and marks the first British death in Iraq in 2009.
*13 February
**Shares in the Lloyds Banking Group close down over 30% after they suggested that one of its subsidiaries, HBOS, would post annual losses of nearly £11 billion. In response, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alistair Darling, says that a 'range of options' remains in place to assist the banking system, and refuses to rule out full nationalisation.
**A BA CityFlyer flight from Amsterdam loses its nosewheel on arrival at London City Airport due to a 'hard landing'. One passenger is hospitalised with minor injuries.
*14 February – A Royal Marine from 45 Commando, later named by the Ministry of Defence as Marine Darren Smith, is killed by enemy gunfire in Southern Afghanistan. This takes the total number of British forces to die in the conflict to 144.
*16 February – A British soldier from 1st Battalion The Rifles, later named as Lance Corporal Stephen Kingscott, is killed by enemy fire in Southern Afghanistan. This increases the total number of British forces to die in the conflict to 145.
*17 February
**Amid growing public and political pressure, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alistair Darling, announces a reduction in the payment of bonuses to senior staff at RBS and that these reduced bonuses will be paid in shares, rather than cash.
**Official figures show that the UK's CPI, the official measure of inflation, has fallen by 0.1% in January to 3.1%. The alternative measure of inflation, the Retail Prices Index, fell by 0.8% to 0.1% in the same monthly period.
*18 February – The Yorkshire Ripper is released from Broadmoor Hospital to face a life sentence, for killing 13 women and attempting to kill 7 more, after doctors claim he has been treated for schizophrenia.
*22 February
**At the 81st Academy Awards, British film ''Slumdog Millionaire'' wins 8 awards including Best Picture and Best Director. British actress Kate Winslet wins the Best Actress award for her role in '' The Reader''.
**TV personality, Jade Goody and her boyfriend, Jack Tweed, are married at Down Hall, Essex. Goody, 27, has had cervical cancer for six months and was told earlier this month that she may only have weeks to live after the cancer spread to her bowel, liver and groin. Tweed is free on license following imprisonment for assault.
*23 February – Binyam Mohamed, a British national suspected of involvement in terrorist activities, is returned to the United Kingdom after being held at Guantanamo Bay Detention Centre for more than four years. Mohammed alleges that he was subject to extraordinary rendition and that UK agents were complicit in his torture.
*25 February
**Three British soldiers from 1st Battalion The Rifles, later named as Corporal Tom Gaden, Lance Corporal Paul Upton and Rifleman Jamie Gunn, are killed in an explosion in Southern Afghanistan. In a separate incident, a Royal Marine from 45 Commando, Signaller Michael Laski, dies in a British hospital after sustaining injuries in the Aghan conflict on Monday 23 February. The four deaths take the total number of British forces to die in the Afghan conflict to 149.
** Labour Party peer Lord Ahmed is sentenced to 12 weeks imprisonment for dangerous driving, having been involved in a fatal crash.
**Prime Minister's Questions is suspended by the Speaker Michael Martin following a request from Prime Minister Gordon Brown as a mark of respect following the death of the six-year-old Leader of the Opposition David Cameron. It is the first time that PMQs has been suspended since the death of the then Labour Party leader John Smith in 1994.
*26 February
**The Royal Bank of Scotland, as expected, announces annual losses totalling £24.1 billion, the biggest loss in British corporate history. It is also confirmed that the bank is to receive a further £13 billion from the government in return for an increased stake in the company.
**Alongside the announcement of its results, the Royal Bank of Scotland Group announces that its former chief executive, Fred Goodwin, is to receive a £693,000-a-year pension for life. The announcement leads to widespread condemnation, whilst the government threaten legal action to claw back the payments.
*27 February – Lloyds Banking Group announces that their HBOS subsidiary made annual losses of £10.8 billion in 2008. The Lloyds TSB division of the group made a profit of £807 million, down 80% on 2007.
*28 February – The government launches an inquiry into a Fred Goodwin's pension and massive losses by HBOS in 2008.

March

*1 March – Manchester United F.C. win the 2009 Carling Cup, beating Tottenham Hotspur F.C. 4–1 on penalties in the final. The scores stood level at 0–0 after 90 minutes and extra time.
*4 March
**Gordon Brown becomes the fifth British Prime Minister to address the United States Congress following talks with US President Barack Obama in Washington D.C.
** ITV announces it is cutting 600 jobs after it reported a loss of £2.6 billion for 2008. The jobs will go from the company's Yorkshire studios in Leeds and from their headquarters in London.
*5 March – The Bank of England reduces the base interest rate to 0.5%, its lowest ever level. It also announces plans to begin quantitative easing by injecting £75 billion into the British economy.
*6 March – Police launch an investigation after a protester throws green custard at the Business and Enterprise Secretary, Lord Mandleson, in protest at the government's decision to approve the construction of a third runway at Heathrow Airport.
*7 March
**The government takes a controlling stake, reported to be 65%, in the troubled Lloyds Banking Group. Toxic loans totalling £260 billion will be insured by the government as part of the deal.
**Massereene Barracks shooting: Two soldiers from 38 Engineer Regiment are killed in a shooting attack at the Massereene Barracks in Antrim, Northern Ireland. The Real IRA claim responsibility for the attack which is met with widespread condemnation across the community.
*9 March – A police officer is shot dead in Craigavon, County Armagh. A dissident republican group, the Continuity IRA, claim responsibility for the attack, the second of its kind in two days.
*13 March – Comic Relief 2009 raises a record total in excess of £57 million at the climax of their telethon, surpassing the amount raised during the 2007 telethon by over £17 million.
*14 March – A British soldier from Royal Welsh Regiment, 2nd Battalion, later named as Lance Corporal Christopher Harkett, is killed in an explosion in Southern Afghanistan. It takes the total number of British forces to die in the conflict to 150.
*16 March – Two British soldiers from Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards, later named as Corporals Graeme Stiff and Dean John, are killed in an explosion in Southern Afghanistan. The deaths take the total number of British forces to die in the Afghan conflict to 152.
*18 March
**The Office for National Statistics announce that UK unemployment rose to 2.03 million in the three months to January. It takes unemployment above 2 million for the first time since 1997.
**Sean Hodgson, who has served 27 years in prison since being convicted of murder in 1982, is acquitted at the Court of Appeal in London.
*22 March – Jade Goody, the reality TV star, dies at her home in Essex after a seven-month battle against cancer.
*24 March – The Consumer Price Index, the government's preferred measure of inflation, unexpectedly rises to 3.2% in February, a rise of 0.2% on the previous month. The alternative measure of inflation, the Retail Prices Index falls to 0.0% for the first time in nearly 50 years.
*27 March – Official figures confirm that the United Kingdom is still in recession, with the economy shrinking by 1.6% in the final quarter of 2008 compared to the third quarter.
*29 March – It emerges that Home Secretary Jacqui Smith submitted an expenses claim for a TV package which included pornographic films watched by her husband.

April

*April – The economy continues to decline dramatically, with statistics showing a 2.4% rate of contraction for the first quarter of this year.
*1 April
**A Super Puma helicopter crashes in the North Sea whilst transporting oil-rig workers. All 16 people on board, 14 passengers and 2 crew, are killed.
**Protests are held across London ahead of the following day's G-20 summit. Police report 63 arrests across the city, where a branch of the Royal Bank of Scotland is targeted by protesters, believed to be as a result of the ongoing anger at the pension of former chief executive, Fred Goodwin. The Metropolitan Police later announce that one protester had died of a heart-attack during the protests.
*2 April – The 2009 G-20 London summit is held in response to the ongoing global financial crisis. The summit ends in the leaders announcing various measures, including a $1.1 trillion investment in the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank.
*3 April – Vincent Nichols is named as the new Archbishop of Westminster and head of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales, replacing Cardinal Cormac Murphy O'Connor.
*5 April – The Independent Police Complaints Commission announces an investigation into the death of Ian Tomlinson who had died at the G20 protests at the beginning of the month. Video footage emerged on 7 April showing Mr Tomlinson being pushed to the ground by a police officer; he died of a heart attack.
*8 April
**Analogue television signals begin to be switched off in the Westcountry Television area as part of the UK's ongoing process of digital switchover.
**Police and MI5 conduct eight counter-terrorism raids in North-West England. The raids have had to be brought forward because operational details were visible on a document being carried by an assistant Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Bob Quick as he arrived at 10 Downing Street for a meeting with the Prime Minister earlier in the day; Mr Quick resigned the following day.
*11 April – Gordon Brown's special adviser Damian McBride resigns his position after it emerges that he and another prominent Labour Party operative, blogger Derek Draper, had exchanged a series of emails in which they discussed plans to smear Conservative Party politicians with a series of false stories about their private lives.
*22 April
**Alistair Darling, the Chancellor of the Exchequer delivers the government's budget to the House of Commons. It includes the introduction of a 50% tax rate for those earning in excess of £150,000 and the announcement that Britain's debt level will rise to 79% of GDP by 2013.
**Figures show unemployment has now risen to more than 2.1 million, the highest level seen under the current government.
*27 April – 2009 swine flu pandemic: The pandemic H1N1/09 virus originating in Mexico spreads to the UK, with 2 cases confirmed in Scotland.
*29 April
**Three cases of swine flu are confirmed in England. One adult is diagnosed in Redditch, another in South London, whilst a 12-year-old girl is diagnosed in Torbay. Meanwhile, the Scottish Health Secretary, Nicola Sturgeon announces that 15 suspected cases in Scotland are negative.
**The government is defeated on an opposition day motion in the House of Commons by 267 votes to 246 over their policy on Gurkha settlement rights.
*30 April
**A further three cases of swine flu are confirmed by the Department of Health. Two of the cases are located in London, with the third being in Newcastle.
**The British Military's operation in Iraq officially ends after six years of combat. The Basra Province is handed over to American forces in a special ceremony, ahead of the withdrawal of British troops in the summer.
**The House of Commons pass a number of reforms to the rules governing MPs allowances.

May

*1 May – The number of confirmed swine flu cases in the UK reaches 99. Notably, the first cases of human to human transmission of the virus are confirmed in Scotland and South Gloucestershire.
*8 May – ''The Daily Telegraph'' obtains a full copy of MPs' expenses claims and begins publishing them unredacted prior to the official parliamentary publication date of 1 July, reigniting the MPs' expenses controversy.
*12 May – Conservative leader of the opposition David Cameron says he will pay back a £680 expenses claim on his constituency home. He also orders fellow Tory MPs to repay thousands of pounds in claims as the on-going expenses scandal engulfs parliament.
*14 May – A number of MPs from all parties are either suspended or announce their resignations due to the expenses scandal. Several weeks later almost 100 MPs will have announced that they would not stand at the next general election.
*16 May – Manchester United win the Premier League championship for the third consecutive year after a 0–0 draw against Arsenal F.C. at their home ground, Old Trafford. They have now equalled Liverpool's record tally of 18 top division titles.
*19 May – The Speaker of the House of Commons, Michael Martin, announces his resignation from the office after coming under criticism for his handling of the ongoing expenses row.
*20 May – Labour peers Lord Taylor of Blackburn and Lord Truscott are suspended from Parliament for six months each having been found guilty of breaching the code of conduct and also failing to act on their personal honour. The suspensions came about as a result of the 2009 cash for influence scandal and are the first such actions since 1642.
*21 May – Following a long campaign by Gurkha veterans who served in the British Armed Forces before 1997, Home Secretary Jacqui Smith announces that all Gurkha veterans who have served four years or more in the British Army before 1997 will be allowed to settle in Britain.
*22 May – Whitelee Wind Farm, the largest onshore wind farm in Europe, officially opens in Scotland.
*27 May – Manchester United lose 2–0 to FC Barcelona of Spain in the European Cup final at Rome's Olympic Stadium.
*30 May – Chelsea win the FA Cup for the fifth time after beating Everton 2–1 in the final at Wembley Stadium. Everton French striker Louis Saha scores the fastest ever FA Cup Final goal, after 23 seconds

June

*1 June – An Ipsos MORI opinion poll suggests the Conservatives are on course for a landslide election victory, with 40% of those polled saying they would vote for the party. Labour and the Liberal Democrats stand 22% behind the Conservatives, both being supported by 18% of respondents. Minority parties, including the British National Party and UK Independence Party appear to be enjoying a surge in support, alongside the Scottish and Welsh nationalists.
*2 June
**The Home Secretary, Jacqui Smith, confirms she will leave the Cabinet in the next reshuffle, expected after the forthcoming local and European elections. It is also announced that the Cabinet Office Minister, Tom Watson and the Minister for Children, Beverley Hughes are to leave government.
**The Labour Party bars four of its MPs from standing at the next general election. Elliot Morley, Ian Gibson, David Chaytor and Margaret Moran had come under scrutiny in the MPs expenses scandal.
*3 June – The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Hazel Blears, resigns from the Cabinet, placing increased pressure on the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown.
*4 June
** 2009 European Parliament election: Labour suffer a significant drop in support, losing 5 seats and being pushed from second to third place in vote share by the Eurosceptic UKIP, while the Conservatives also enjoy an increase in support, and the far-right BNP gain 2 seats, their first ever in the European Parliament.
** 2009 local elections: In further poor results for the Labour Party, all 4 remaining councils under their control fall to the Conservative Party's control. The Conservatives achieve 38% of the vote, the Liberal Democrats 28% and Labour 23%.
*5 June – In the aftermath of yesterday's election results, Prime Minister Gordon Brown reshuffles his cabinet amidst some pressure on his leadership of the Labour Party.
*8 June – Paedophile nursery worker Vanessa George is arrested on suspicion of child sex abuse in connection to the 2009 Plymouth child abuse case
*9 June
**Newly elected MEP and leader of the British National Party Nick Griffin is forced to abandon a press conference outside the Houses of Parliament after being ambushed by protesters.
**Unemployment in Britain is now standing at a 14-year high of 2.22 million and the quarterly rise in unemployment is the highest for 28 years.
*14 June
**The first death in the United Kingdom related to the 2009 swine flu pandemic is confirmed by the Scottish Government at 20:30 BST. There will eventually be 474 confirmed deaths in the UK.
** The Big Top 40 Show is the first real-time chart show ever to be broadcast in the United Kingdom, consisting of downloads and airplay. The show is broadcast on 142 stations – the largest number of stations that a radio show is broadcast on in the UK.
*15 June
**Prime Minister Gordon Brown announces an independent inquiry into events surrounding the Iraq War.
**The Calman Commission recommends that the Scottish Parliament be given greater control over tax and legislation such as setting speed limits.
*16 June
**The long-awaited Digital Britain report is published. It makes a number of recommendations with regard to broadband access, internet use and public broadcasting.
**An official inquiry begins into the MPs expenses scandal, conducted by The Committee on Standards in Public Life.
*18 June – MPs' expenses are published online by Parliamentary authorities, but the decision to black out many of the details leads to criticism.
*21 June – The final British Grand Prix (providing Donington Park is prepared on time) to be held at the Silverstone Circuit is won by Sebastian Vettel. Britain's Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton finish 6th and 16th respectively.
*22 June – Conservative MP John Bercow is elected as the 157th Speaker of the House of Commons.
*25 June – The BBC
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