Events from the year 2002 in the United Kingdom. This year was the Golden Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II.
Incumbents Monarch – Elizabeth II Prime Minister – Tony Blair (Labour)
Events January 1 January – Ford unveils their all-new Fiesta supermini which is due on sale in March, but the new model will not be produced in Dagenham, instead, it will be produced in Ford's other European plants in Germany and Spain. 7 January – It is announced that a record of 2,450,000 new cars were sold during 2001, breaking the previous record set in 1989. The Ford Focus was Britain's best-selling car for the third year in a row. 14 January – The foot and mouth crisis is declared over after eleven months. 25 January – Detectives investigating the murder of an unknown boy, called "Adam", whose torso was found in the Thames last year, announce that he may have been the victim of a so-called muti ritual killing.
February 8–24 February – Great Britain competes at the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States, and wins 1 gold and 1 bronze medal. 9 February – Princess Margaret, the Queen's younger sister, dies after suffering a stroke aged 71. 14 February – 2002 Ogmore by-election: The Labour Party candidate Huw Irranca-Davies holds the seat held by Sir Ray Powell until his death 15 February – The funeral of Princess Margaret takes place at St. George's Chapel, Windsor. 18 February – Constitutional law case of Thoburn v Sunderland City Council decided in the High Court, regarding the use of metric units in retail. 19 February – Ford ends 90 years of British car production with the loss of more than 2,000 jobs after the last Fiesta was made at their factory in Dagenham, ahead of the launch of a new generation model in the Spring. However, the plant will be retained for the production of engines and gearboxes and Ford will continue to make commercial vehicles at their plant in Southampton. 20 February – Andrew Aston, a 29-year-old Birmingham cocaine addict, is sentenced to 26 concurrent terms of Life imprisonment – officially the longest prison sentence imposed on any criminal in England and Wales – for murdering two elderly people in robberies and attacking 24 others. 21 February – The much-admired television actor John Thaw dies suddenly from cancer aged 60 at his home in Luckington, Wiltshire, less than two years after his final appearance as Inspector Morse. 27 February – Ryanair Flight 296 catches fire at London Stansted Airport. 28 February – Nocton rail crash. Van driver John Fletcher, 47, crashes his vehicle through a wall and ends up on the railway line at Nocton, Lincolnshire; he contacts the emergency services when a passenger train hits the wrecked van. Fletcher is killed and 14 people on the train are injured.
March March – Vauxhall unveils a new generation of its Vectra family car which is due on sale in the Summer. 1 March – Singer Doreen Waddell dies aged 36 after fleeing a supermarket in Shoreham-by-Sea before being struck down and killed by three vehicles. 2 March – The animated series of Mr. Bean premieres on ITV1. It is based on Rowan Atkinson's Mr. Bean. 11 March – BBC 6 Music, the first new BBC Radio station in decades, is launched. 21 March – 13-year-old Amanda "Milly" Dowler goes missing on her way home from school in Surrey. Soon afterwards, the News of the World hacks her phone. 22 March – A woman known as "Miss B", who was left quadriplegic last year as a result of a burst blood vessel in her neck, is granted the right to die by the High Court. 29 March – Coal mining in Scotland which has a history stretching back more than 800 years, comes to an end with the closure of Longannet coal mine in Fife after it floods and the owners go into liquidation, putting more than 500 people out of work. 30 March – Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother dies aged 101 at Royal Lodge, Windsor.
April April – Nursing and Midwifery Council takes over the registration function for nurses. 4 April – Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother's funeral procession in London from the Chapel Royal at St James's Palace to Westminster Hall to lie in state. 9 April – The funeral of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother takes place at Westminster Abbey, London. She is buried beside her husband and daughter at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle. 23 April – A badly decomposed female body is found in the River Thames; it is feared to be that of Milly Dowler. 24 April – The body found in the River Thames is identified as that of 73-year-old Mrs. Maisie Thomas, who was last seen alive near her home in Shepperton just over a year ago and whose death is not believed to be suspicious. 25 April – Two 16-year-old twin brothers are cleared of murdering 10-year-old Damilola Taylor, who was stabbed to death in South London 17 months earlier. 29 April – As part of her Golden Jubilee celebrations, the Queen dines at 10 Downing Street with the five living former prime ministers who have served under her: Tony Blair, John Major, Margaret Thatcher, James Callaghan and Edward Heath. She is also joined by several relatives of deceased former Prime Ministers, including Clarissa Eden, widow of Prime Minister Anthony Eden.
May 1 May – Airdrieonians, of the Scottish Football League Division One, go into liquidation with debts of £3,000,000. They are the first Scottish senior side to go out of business for 35 years. 4 May – Arsenal win the FA Cup with a 2–0 win over London rivals Chelsea in the cup final. 8 May – Arsenal win their second double in five seasons (and the third in their history) after a 1–0 away win over defending champions Manchester United. 10 May Potters Bar rail crash in Hertfordshire kills seven people. £5million-rated striker Marlon King, of Gillingham F.C., is jailed for 18 months after being found guilty of handling a stolen car worth £32,000. 24 May – Falkirk Wheel boat lift opens in Scotland, also marking the reopening of the Union Canal for leisure traffic. 27 May – Former leader of the Liberal Democrats Paddy Ashdown appointed as the international community's High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina. 28 May – Stephen Byers resigns as Secretary of State for Transport.
June 2 June – The England national football team's World Cup campaign, hosted jointly by Japan and South Korea, begins with a 1–1 draw against Sweden. 3 June – The "Party in the Palace" takes place at Buckingham Palace, London for The Queen's Golden Jubilee celebrations. 4 June – The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh ride in the gold state coach from Buckingham Palace to St Paul's Cathedral for a special service marking the Queen's 50 years on the throne. In New York City, the Empire State Building is lit purple in her honour. 7 June – England beat Argentina 1–0 in their second World Cup group game, with the only goal of the game being scored by captain David Beckham. 10 June – The first direct electronic communication experiment between the nervous systems of two humans is carried out by Kevin Warwick in the University of Reading. 12 June – England qualify for the knockout stages of the World Cup despite only managing a goalless draw against Nigeria. 15 June – England beat Denmark 3–0 in the World Cup second round and reach the quarter-finals for the first time since 1990. Ironically, the far-right British National Party had declared their support for all-white Denmark before the World Cup due to the England team featuring black players. 21 June – England's hopes of winning the World Cup are ended by a 2–1 defeat to Brazil in the quarter-finals. 25 June – Jason Gifford (27) is shot dead by armed police in Aylesbury after brandishing a shotgun and a machete in a residential street. 27 June – The Who's bass guitarist, John Entwistle, dies of a heart attack in Paradise, Nevada, aged 57.
July July – London City Hall is opened on the south bank of the River Thames, designed by Norman Foster. 1 July – Rochdale Canal, crossing the Pennines, reopened throughout for leisure traffic. 3 July – Decapitation of a statue of Margaret Thatcher: a man decapitates a statue of the former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher on display at the Guildhall Art Gallery in London. 5 July – The Imperial War Museum North in Manchester, designed by Daniel Libeskind, opens. 8 July – John Taylor, a 46-year-old postman from Bramley in Leeds, is sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of 16-year-old Leanne Tiernan. Leanne was last seen alive in Leeds City Centre on 26 November 2000 and her body was found in the Yorkshire countryside nine months later. Police believed that Taylor may have been responsible for other unsolved sex attacks and murders in the Yorkshire area, and the trial judge has warned Taylor to expect to spend the rest of his life in prison. 9 July – Clydebank F.C. of the Scottish Football League Second Division become defunct after a takeover by the owners of the new Airdrie United club, who take their place in the Scottish league and continue the tradition of senior football in the town of Airdrie following the recent demise of Airdrieonians, whose stadium they will play at. 10 July – The funeral of John Entwistle is held at St Edward's Church in Stow-on-the-Wold. 12 July – Ribble Link waterway opened for leisure traffic. 13 July – Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art opens in the converted Baltic Flour Mill at Gateshead. 22 July – Rio Ferdinand becomes the most expensive player in English football when he completes his £29,100,000 transfer from Leeds United to Manchester United. 23 July Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Wales, is elected to be the successor of George Carey as Archbishop of Canterbury. Leicester City F.C. move into their new 32,000-seat Walker's Stadium, named under a sponsorship deal with Walker's Crisps, after 111 years at Filbert Street. It is officially opened by former England striker Gary Lineker, who was born locally and started his playing career with the club. 25 July – The Commonwealth Games, hosted by Manchester, are opened by The Queen. The event also marks the opening of the City of Manchester Stadium, which will host the games. It will be partly remodelled after the games are over to become home of Manchester City F.C. from August 2003. 30 July – Heavy rain overnight results in floods in Glasgow.
August 2 August – 2002 Barrow-in-Furness legionellosis outbreak: First fatality in an outbreak of Legionnaires' disease in Barrow-in-Furness which results in seven deaths and 172 cases throughout the month, ranking it as the worst in the UK's history and fifth-worst worldwide. 4 August – 10-year-old girls Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman go missing in Soham, Cambridgeshire. 5 August – Police and volunteers in the Soham area begin the search for Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman. 7 August – Police investigating the case of the two missing Soham girls seize a white van in nearby Wentworth and admit they are now looking at the case as a possible abduction. 12 August – A possible sighting of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman is reported by a local taxi driver who claims to have seen the driver of a green car struggling with two children and driving recklessly along the A142 into Newmarket on the evening the girls went missing. 13 August – Two mounds of disturbed earth are found at Warren Hill, near Newmarket, in the same area where screams were reported on the night that Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman went missing. It is initially feared that the mounds of earth were the graves of the two girls, but a police examination fails to uncover any link to the girls. 16 August – Ian Huntley, caretaker of Soham Village College, and his girlfriend, Maxine Carr, are questioned in connection with the disappearance of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman, but are released after seven hours in custody.