2 April – Miles Evans, a 24-year-old former soldier, is sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of his nine-year-old stepdaughter Zoe in Warminster last year. Shortly after her disappearance, he had appeared on television making an appeal for her safe return.[1]
27 April – Kevin Lloyd, who has played Alfred "Tosh" Lines in The Bill since 1988, is dismissed from the role by ITV due to his alcoholism.
June – Building work begins on Cambourne, a new village nine miles west of Cambridge. The first residents are expected to move into their homes next year.[5]
22 June – England lose 2–1 to Romania in their second group game in Toulouse. Their consolation goal came from eighteen-year-old Michael Owen – who earlier this year became the youngest full England international of the 20th century.
26 June – England qualify for the next stage of the World Cup by beating Colombia 2-0 in Lens, with David Beckham scoring the first with a trademark 30 yard free kick, with Darren Anderton the 2nd.
30 June – England are out of the World Cup in the second round after losing on penalties to Argentina after a 2–2 draw in open play in Saint-Étienne. They were 2–1 up after 16 minutes thanks to goals from Alan Shearer and Michael Owen, but the Argentines later equalised and David Beckham was sent off in the second half for kicking the opponent who had fouled him.
2 July – Sion Jenkins, a 40-year-old deputy headmaster, is found guilty of the murder of Billie-Jo Jenkins, his 13-year-old foster daughter (the shared surname is a coincidence) and sentenced to life imprisonment. Billie-Jo was found dead at his home in Hastings, East Sussex, on 15 February last year.[3]
31 July – Crime and Disorder Act receives Royal Assent. It introduces Anti-Social Behaviour Orders, Sex Offender Orders, Parenting Orders, and "racially aggravated" offences. It makes it possible for a young person between ten and fourteen to be presumed capable of committing an offence and formally abolishes capital punishment for treason and piracy, the last civilian offences for which the death penalty remained theoretically available.
9 September – An East London coroner records a verdict of suicide on former footballer Justin Fashanu, who was found hanged in a lock-up garage four months ago.
November – Peugeot launches the 206 supermini, which is being built at the Ryton plant near Coventry.
26 December – Great Boxing Day Storm: Severe gale force winds hit Ireland, southern Scotland and northern England. Roads, railways and electricity are disrupted.