8 January - Ford unveils its new Mondeo, a range of large hatchbacks, saloons and estates which will reach showrooms on 22 March as replacement for the long-running Sierra.
14 February - Police on Merseyside confirm that they have found the body of James Bulger, who went missing two days previously. James's body was found on a railway line in Walton, approximately two miles from where he was last seen.[3]
20 February - Two 10-year-old boys are arrested in connection with the death of James Bulger.[4]
22 February - The two boys arrested in connection with James Bulger's death are charged with murder.
3 March - Tony Bland, who was given the right to die by the High Court due to injuries suffered into the Hillsborough disaster, dies after being in a coma for nearly four years. This brings the Hillsborough death toll to 96.
26 April - The British government declares the official end of the recession after revealing that the economy grew by 0.2% in the first three months of this year.
23 May - Former nurse Beverley Allitt, 25, is sentenced to life imprisonment after being found guilty of killing four children and harming nine others at a Lincolnshire hospital.
29 July - Two Lewisham teenagers, both aged under 18, are acquitted of murdering Stephen Lawrence, who was fatally stabbed in London three months ago.[10]
24 November - Two 11-year-old boys are convicted at PrestonCrown Court of murdering James Bulger. The trial judge sentences them to detention at Her Majesty's pleasure, with a recommendation that they should be imprisoned for "very, very many years to come" before being considered for release. The judge removes an identity restriction on the two killers, naming them as Robert Thompson and Jon Venables.[4]