2012 in the United Kingdom

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Events from the year 2012 in the United Kingdom. This was the year of the Summer Olympics in London as well as the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II.

Incumbents

Events

January

  • 3 January – After a trial based on new forensic evidence, Gary Dobson and David Norris are convicted of the racist murder of black London teenager Stephen Lawrence, who was killed in April 1993.[1] On 4 January they are sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder, with minimum term of just over 15 and 14 years respectively.[2]
  • 6 January – Mobile phone operator O2 announces plans to provide free internet to millions of residents and visitors in central London by launching Europe's largest free Wi-Fi zone.[3]
  • 10 January
  • 20 January – Press TV, an English language news channel owned by the Iranian Government, is forced off air in the United Kingdom after Ofcom revokes its broadcasting licence for breaching the terms of the Communications Act.[6]
  • 21 January – Under new guidelines to come into force from 30 April, clinics which charge for pregnancy services including abortions will be able to advertise their services on radio and television after the Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice rules there is no justification for barring such advertising.[7]
  • 23 January – John Anslow, a prisoner charged with murder following a fatal shooting in 2010, escapes from the van transporting him to a court appearance following an armed ambush near Redditch, Worcestershire.[8]
  • 24 January – UK government debt has risen above £1,000,000,000,000 for the first time.[9]
  • 25 January
    • Scotland's First Minister, Alex Salmond, sets out the question – "Do you agree that Scotland should be an independent country?" – that he intends to ask voters in a referendum in 2014.[10]
    • Official figures reveal that the UK economy shrunk by 0.2% in the final three months of 2011.[11]
  • 31 January – Former Royal Bank of Scotland CEO Fred Goodwin loses his knighthood as a result of the near collapse of the bank in 2008.[12]

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

Undated

  • Despite beginning with drought in some areas, 2012 is the second-wettest year on record in the UK and the wettest ever in England.[137][138]
  • British new car sales reach a post-recession high of 2,040,000 with the Ford Fiesta being Britain's most popular car for the fourth year in a row. The success of Nissan's British-built Qashqai crossover vehicle continues with more than 45,000 sales making it Britain's sixth-most popular new car. Mercedes-Benz enjoys a surge in sales, with its C-Class range achieving over 37,000 sales as Britain's ninth-most popular new car.

Publications

Births

Deaths

January

Thumb
John Madin

February

March

April

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Jim Marshall

May

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Vidal Sassoon

June

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Don Durbridge

July

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Lol Coxhill

August

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Sir Bernard Lovell

September

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John C. Marshall

October

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Mike Singleton

November

December

Thumb
Sir Patrick Moore

See also

References

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