# 2025 in England

Events of the year 2025 in England.

## Events
### January

* 1 January –
** Two teenagers are killed and seven other people injured in a collision involving two cars in East Yorkshire.
** The cap on bus fares in England rises from £2 to £3 per journey.
** West Midlands Police announce they have located Sheila Fox, missing from Coventry since 1972, and say she is safe and living in another part of the country.
* 2 January –
** Twenty Labour Party councillors on Broxtowe Borough Council in Nottinghamshire have resigned from Labour in protest at the direction of the party under Sir Keir Starmer and will sit as independents.
** Graham Sheldon resigns as leader of Oldham Council's Conservatives, and from the Conservative Party itself, after police were called to a heated council meeting on 18 December.
** Rapper Stormzy is given a nine-month driving ban by Wimbledon Magistrates' Court after he was caught using a mobile phone while driving in March 2024.
** A baby boy is killed when a car hits a tree after leaving the A1 dual carriageway near Grantham, Lincolnshire.
** A man dies in a 230 ft fall from Sharp Edge on Blencathra, in the Lake District.
* 3 January – Data from NHS England shows the number of people being treated in hospital for flu in the week ending 29 December was 5,000, a fourfold increase from November, and was continuing to rise "at a very concerning rate".
* 4 January –
** The NHS in Cornwall declares critical incident.
** A fire destroys a historic building housing the Dorset Burger Company in Weymouth, Dorset.
* 6 January –
** Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer outlines plans to reduce hospital waiting lists in England, including setting up more community hubs and greater utilisation of the private sector.
** Former prison officer Linda De Sousa is sentenced to fifteen months in prison for having sex with an inmate at Wandsworth Prison.
* 7 January –
** Police launch a murder investigation after a 14-year-old boy, subsequently named as Kelyan Bokassa, is stabbed to death on a double-decker bus in Woolwich, south east London.
** The Crafter's Companion store, a business owned by Dragons' Den panellist Sara Davies, in Barlborough, near Chesterfield, is closed by administrators, leaving 10 people redundant. A second store in Evesham, Worcestershire base, remains open, along with the company's head office in County Durham. Davies was a previous shareholder in the business, but reacquired it from the administrators.
* 10 January – Ten Reform UK councillors in Derbyshire resign from the party in protest at Nigel Farage's leadership, claiming the Reform is being run in an "increasingly autocratic manner" and "has lost its sense of direction" since Farage took over as leader. In response, Farage says the members were put forward by a "rogue branch" of the party and that "none of them passed vetting".
* 11 January – An off-duty police officer, subsequently named as PC Rosie Prior, is killed when she is struck by a lorry on the A19 at Bagby in North Yorkshire after stopping to help at the scene of an earlier crash. Ryan Welford, a driver who was involved in the first crash, is also killed in the incident, while a passenger is taken to hospital for treatment.
* 12 January – A man is arrested for attempted murder after a female member of staff, reported to be a nurse, was stabbed in the A&E department of the Royal Oldham Hospital and suffered lifechanging injuries.
* 13 January –
** A man is charged with the attempted murder of a nurse who was stabbed at the Royal Oldham Hospital on 11 January.
** Ryan Wellings, who became the first defendant to stand trial for the unlawful killing of his partner after she committed suicide following prolonged domestic abuse, is cleared of her manslaughter, but found guilty of assault and prolonged domestic violence. He is subsequently sentenced to six and a half years in custody.
** Two women are arrested after climate change protestors spray paint the grave of Charles Darwin in Westminster Abbey.
** At Birmingham Crown Court, five men who used dating app Grindr to target and rob a series of men are given prison sentences of between 12 and 17 years.
* 14 January –
** The NHS is to extend bowel cancer screening in the form of home test kits to everyone over the age of 50 in England, bringing England in line with Scotland and Wales.
** MPs vote to back a one-month cap on advanced rents in England as part of the Renters' Rights Bill.
* 16 January –
** Convicted murderer Jake Fahri, sentenced to life imprisonment for the 2008 murder of schoolboy Jimmy Mizen and released on parole in 2023, is recalled to prison after "shamelessly boasting" about his crime, the Probation Service says.
** Hassan Sentamu is found guilty of the September 2023 murder of Elianne Andam in Croydon.
** Police in Greater Manchester seize a Tesla Cybertruck, a vehicle which is illegal to drive in the UK because of safety concerns.
* 17 January – White supremacist Callum Parslow, who stabbed an asylum seeker at a hotel near Worcester in what a judge described as "undoubtedly a terrorist attack", is sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum of 22 and eight months after being convicted of attempted murder.
* 18 January – A further three people are charged with the murder of Michelle Sadio, who was shot dead outside a church in Harlesden, north west London, on the night of 14 December.
* 21 January –
** Three men who stabbed motorist Sadiq Al-lami to death in a road rage attack in Didsbury, Greater Manchester in January 2024, are sentenced to life imprisonment.
** A murder investigation is launched following the fatal stabbing of a 12-year-old boy, subsequently named as Leo Ross, in the Hall Green area of Birmingham.
* 22 January – Kyle Clifford pleads guilty to the murders of Carol, Hannah and Louise Hunt in Bushey, Hertfordshire, on 9 July 2024.
* 24 January – Deveca Rose, whose four children died in a house fire after she left them alone in December 2021, is sentenced to ten years in prison for manslaughter.
* 25 January –
** West Midlands Police confirm that a 14-year-old boy has been charged with the murder of Leo Ross in Birmingham.
** West Yorkshire Police confirm that three teenagers were killed in a crash near Wakefield the previous evening when a car left the road and hit a tree.
** A police officer is injured after he is struck by a vehicle in Greater Manchester; a suspect is subsequently arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.
* 26 January – Police are investigating the vandalism of two memorials to police officers who died in the line of duty in West Yorkshire, which happened on subsequent days.
* 28 January – An inquest into the 2018 Leicester helicopter crash in which five people were killed rules the crash was an accident.
* 30 January – During a hearing at the Old Bailey, Steve Sansom and Gemma Watts plead guilty to the murder of Sarah Mayhew, whose dismembered remains were discovered in locations around London in 2023; both are sentenced to life imprisonment, with Sansom, who was on licence for committing a previous murder, given a whole life sentence.
* 31 January – UK drill rapper Digga D is sentenced to three years and eleven months in prison for supplying 99 lbs of cannabis.

### February

* 1 February – Four people are killed when the vehicle they are travelling in crashes into a building in Colchester, Essex.
* 3 February – New Ofsted report cards are launched for assessing schools, with government intervention for struggling schools to take place much sooner than under the previous system.
* 4 February – Robert Jenner is sentenced to 30 years in prison for attempting to kill a police officer by stabbing him in the head with a pair of scissors at a flat in Maidstone, Kent, in 2023.
* 6 February – Two couples tell the BBC that they went through with aborting healthy babies after doctors at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust told them the unborn children had serious genetic problems.
* 9 February – A BBC News investigation discovers that Drax Power Station in North Yorkshire failed more than once to disclose the burning of wood from primary forests.
* 10 February –
** Simon Vickers is sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum of 15 years for the July 2024 murder of his 14-year-old daughter Scarlett Vickers, after a jury rejects his claim that he stabbed her with a kitchen knife during a play fight and that her death was "a freak accident".
** The UK government agrees a new funding deal with Drax Power Station that will reduce the amount of subsidies it receives by half.
* 11 February – James Garnor resigns as a member of Whittlebury Parish Council after a video was shared that appeared to show an explosive device being triggered by a cat.
* 12 February –
** The UK government unveils a £300m project to build more affordable housing in England. Part of the plans will also curb the amount of housing benefit rogue landlords receive if their properties are substandard.
** Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust is fined £1.6m for failings connected to the deaths of three babies under its care.
* 13 February –
** The Parole Board confirms that Michael Steele, one of two men convicted over the 1995 Rettendon murders and sentenced to life imprisonment in 1998, will be released from prison on licence.
** David Newton is convicted of the 2013 murder of retired postmistress Una Crown, who was stabbed to death at her home in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire. Originally a suspect at the time of the murder, he was re-arrested in April 2024 following advances in DNA technology.
** The UK government publishes a list of 100 proposed locations for potential new towns in England, with Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook saying work on them will begin before the next general election.
* 14 February –
** David Newton is sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 21 years for the 2013 murder of Una Crown.
** Around 100 people are rescued after fire breaks out at the five-storey Chiltern Firehouse hotel in Marylebone, Central London.
** Kent Police launch a murder investigation after a woman, who is subsequently named as 43-year-old Lisa Smith from Slough, is shot dead outside the Three Horseshoes pub on Main Road, Knockholt.
** Lottery winners Patrick and Frances Connolly, from Hartlepool, have acquired a 25% stake in Championship side Durham Women FC with the aim of reaching the Women's Super League.
* 15 February –
** BBC News reports that the convictions of Jack Whomes and Michael Steele for the Rettendon murders are being reviewed by the Criminal Cases Review Commission following an application.
** Netflix are forced to move their BAFTA Awards afterparty, scheduled to be held at the Chiltern Firehouse the following day, to a different venue after a fire at the hotel.
* 16 February – A man is charged with the murder of Julie Buckley, a woman from Christchurch near March in Cambridge, who disappeared in January. Charges have been brought even though a body has not been found.
* 17 February –
** Prime Minister Keir Starmer says the UK government met a key election target to provide an extra two million GP appointments, with the target being met between July and November 2024.
** Logan Burnett is sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum of 23 years and 173 days for the murder of his partner, Courtney Mitchell, who was stabbed to death in front of her friends in Ipswich on 6 August 2024.
* 18 February – Jack Bennett is sentenced to 28 weeks in prison by Exeter Magistrates after pleading guilty to sending malicious communications to MP Jess Phillips, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan and a Metropolitan police officer between February 2024 and January 2025. He is also given a restraining order preventing him from contacting his victims for five years.
* 19 February – County Durham Police begin a search for keen long-distance runner Jenny Hall, 23, who was last seen the previous afternoon. Her car is discovered parked on the B6278 on remote moorland.
* 20 February – Kent Police announce that they believe a man who they suspect of shooting his wife dead on Valentine's Day is dead. Edward Stockings is said to have entered the River Thames after shooting dead Lisa Smith outside a pub.
* 21 February – Former Bedfordshire police officer Natasha Conneely, who removed a burglar's electronic tag so they could have a sexual relationship, is sentenced to 18 months in prison after pleading guilty to corruption or other improper exercise of police powers and privileges.
* 22 February –
** 2025 Six Nations Championship: England regain the Calcutta Cup for the first time since 2020 after defeating Scotland 16–15 at Twickenham when Scotland missed a last-minute conversion.
** A three-year-old girl is killed in a crash between a van and a tram in Greater Manchester. A man is subsequently charged in connection with the death.
** The M4 is closed between the Severn Crossing and Junction 21 after the body of a 40-year-old male is discovered on the carriageway. Avon and Somerset Police subsequently confirm the deceased man had been arrested the previous day after accusations against him were livestreamed online by a vigilante group.
* 23 February –
** Police searching for Jenny Hall, missing since 18 February, find a body in forest in a remote part of Teesdale.
** A number of residents in the Wythenshawe area of Greater Manchester are evacuated following a fire involving a lorry on an industrial estate.
** A 17-year-old boy is taken to hospital after being stabbed in the chest at a Primark store in Nottingham. A 16-year-old boy is subsequently arrested, charged and remanded in custody over the incident.
* 24 February –
** The UK government publishes a list of 750 schools to establish breakfast clubs for pupils from April, with the pilot scheme paving the way for an England-wide initiative.
** At Luton Crown Court, 19-year-old Nicholas Prosper pleads guilty to the murders of his mother and two siblings, who were shot dead in September 2024; it is also reported that Prosper planned to carry out a mass shooting at his school.
** A pedestrian is killed and two others injured in a crash involving a bus and a car in Harrow.
** An 84-year-old man is taken to hospital with critical injuries following an attack by a suspected American XL bully in Warrington, Cheshire; the dog, along with another suspected XL bully, are shot by armed police.
* 25 February –
** Amanda Pritchard announces she will stepping down as chief executive of NHS England.
** Deputy Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Dame Lynne Owens announces her retirement.
** Actor Alexander Westwood, who appeared in the Netflix series Sex Education, is sentenced to fifteen and a half years in prison after he was convicted of 26 crimes against children and two pupils who went to him for acting tuition.
* 27 February – Police confirm that a 19-year-old woman, subsequently named as Morgan Dorset, has died following an attack by a suspected American XL bully at a property in Bristol the previous evening. Two people have been arrested in connection with the incident, while the dog has been destroyed.
* 28 February –
** A new agreement with the UK government will provide an additional £889m to general practice, enabling surgeries to provide more appointments and for patients to request an appointment with their usual doctor, as well as an end to the "8am scramble" for appointments.
** Molly Bury, a former police officer with Lancashire Police who shared information about the disappearance of Nicola Bulley with her family and gained unauthorised access to police computer systems over a number of years, is given a suspended sentence.
** Charity worker Omar Wilson is sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 18 years for the murder of acclaimed chef Mussie Imnetu in August 2024.
** The London Fire Brigade announces that Sherlock, a cocker spaniel who has served as its longest fire investigation dog, is to retire after 12 years.
** Philip Foster, an actor who appeared in Channel 4 soap Brookside, is sentenced to eight and a half years in prison at Sheffield Crown Court over a £13.6m fraud involving fake model agencies.
** A 17-year-old boy is taken to hospital with serious injuries after being stabbed in Nottingham City Centre.

### March

* 1 March – Three teenage girls are charged with the manslaughter of a 75-year-old man, named as Fredi Rivero, who was attacked in Seven Sisters Road, Islington, London, on 27 February and died in hospital the following day.
* 2 March – A four year old girl dies following a suspected arson attack at a house in Manchester.
* 4 March – Police begin a murder investigation after a 16-year-old boy, subsequently named as Lathanlel Burrell, is killed in a shooting incident near Stockwell tube station in south London.
* 5 March – A child is killed and a second injured after a car is driven onto a sports pitch in Kendal, Cumbria; a man is arrested on suspicion of dangerous driving. She is subsequently named as 10-year-old Poppy Atkinson.
* 6 March – At Cambridge Crown Court, Kyle Clifford is convicted of the rape of his ex-girlfriend, Louise Hunt, during an attack which killed her along with her mother and sister in July 2024.
* 7 March –
** Giant trolley scales – designed to weigh trolleys at the checkout to identify errors when scanning goods – are introduced on a trial basis at a Tesco store in Gateshead.
** Belgrave Road, a coastal road in Ventnor, Isle of Wight, is closed after part of the cliff collapses, with police describing it as a "significant rockfall".
* 8 March –
** Police searching for a suspect in the Valentine's Day shooting of Lisa Smith confirm a body was found in the River Thames near Rainham, Kent, the previous day. Police suspect Edward Stockings entered the water near Dartford on the day of the shooting.
** The University of York acquires notebooks belonging to Eric Morecambe; the books contain jokes and sketches developed by the comedian.
** A man is charged with the murder of Lathaniel Burrell, who was shot near Stockwell tube station.
* 11 March – NHS England confirms that as many as 5,000 people missed routine screenings for cancer and other illnesses because of a technical error dating back to 2008.
* 12 March – A 13-year-old girl appears in court holding a teddy bear as she is accused of the murder of a woman whose body was found following a house fire in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire two days earlier.
* 13 March – At a hearing at the Old Bailey, Hassan Sentamu is sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 23 years for the murder of Elianne Andam in Croydon, South London, in September 2023.
* 14 March –
** Mark Ross, who killed Amazon delivery driver Claudiu Carol-Kondor while the latter was trying to prevent his van from being stolen in August 2024, is sentenced to life imprisonment by Leeds Crown Court with a minimum term of 30 years.
** Daniel Bannister is sentenced to 16 weeks in prison for stalking Cheryl Tweedy after breaking a restraining order over previous incidents in which he harassed the singer.
** Denise Fergus, the mother of murdered toddler James Bulger, launches a helpline for families affected by crime ahead of what would have been his 35th birthday.
** The High Court rules that former Home Secretary Suella Braverman acted unlawfully by housing three asylum seekers at MDP Wethersfield in Essex between July 2023 and February 2024, where they lived in "prison like" conditions.
** An 18-year-old man is killed and three teenage boys injured in a car crash near Shifnal, Shropshire.
* 15 March – A spokesperson for the Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust confirms a "small number" of patients have received incorrect text messages as a result of an error in its patient messaging system.
* 16 March –
** A 17-year-old boy becomes the second teenager to die following a crash near Shifnal, Shropshire, two days earlier.
** Toxicator, Alton Towers's newest ride, opens to the public, but is forced to close on its first day after a pipe starts leaking brown liquid. It reopened later in the day.
** An appeal for a commemorative playground at Churchtown Primary School, attended by two of the victims of the 2024 Southport attack, reaches its £250,000 target.
** A statue of peace campaigner Brian Haw is unveiled opposite the Imperial War Museum in Lambeth, London.
* 17 March – Following a trial at Chester Crown Court, Richard Burrows, who stole a terminally ill man's identity and spent almost three decades on the run, is convicted of 54 child sex abuse charges.

### Predicted and scheduled events

* 19 April – 5 May – 2025 World Snooker Championship
* 1 May
** 2025 Cornwall Council election
** 2025 Suffolk County Council election
* 22 June – 350th anniversary of Royal Observatory Greenwich.
* 22 August – 27 September – 2025 Women's Rugby World Cup

## Holidays

Source:
* 1 January – New Year's Day
* 18 April – Good Friday
* 21 April – Easter Monday
* 5 May – Early May bank holiday
* 26 May – Spring May Bank Holiday
* 25 August – Summer Bank Holiday
* 25 December – Christmas Day
* 26 December – Boxing Day

## Deaths
### January

* 2 January – Russ North, 59, English heavy metal singer (Cloven Hoof).
* 9 January – Laurie Holloway, 86, English pianist, musical director and composer.
* 13 January –
** Tony Book, 90, English football player (Bath City, Manchester City) and manager (Manchester City).
** Elgar Howarth, 89, English conductor, composer and trumpeter.
* 14 January – John Blakemore, 88, English photographer.
* 15 January – Diane Langton, 77, English actress (Hollyoaks, Only Fools and Horses, EastEnders).
* 16 January – Dame Joan Plowright, 95, English actress (Enchanted April, A Taste of Honey, 101 Dalmatians), Tony winner (1961).
* 18 January – Claire van Kampen, 71, English composer (Royal Shakespeare Company), playwright and theatre director, cancer.
* 20 January – John Sykes, 65, English guitarist (Tygers of Pan Tang, Whitesnake) and songwriter ("Is This Love"), cancer. (death announced on this date)
* 21 January – Dennis Crompton, 90, English architect.
* 24 January – David Gaskell, 84, English footballer (Manchester United, Wrexham, Wigan Athletic).

### February

* 1 February – Peter Bassano, 79–80, English trombonist ("Hey Jude") and conductor.
* 3 February – Mark Dyczkowski, 73, English Indologist. (death announced on this date)
* 4 February – Brian Scrivens, 87, English dual-code rugby player (Newport RFC, Wigan). (death announced on this date)
* 6 February – Gordon Marshall, 85, English-Scottish footballer (Heart of Midlothian, Newcastle United, Arbroath). (death announced on this date)
* 7 February – Mick Walker, 84, English football player and manager (Notts County).
* 10 February – John Tudor, 78, English footballer (Newcastle United, Sheffield United, Coventry City), complications from dementia. (death announced on this date)
* 11 February – Graham Richards, 85, English chemist.
* 13 February – Ronnie Boyce, 82, English footballer (West Ham United).
* 16 February – Barry Panter, politician (Mayor of Newcastle-under-Lyme), car crash. (death reported on this date)
* 18 February –
** Rick Buckler, 69, English drummer (the Jam).
** Peter Line, 94, English lawn bowler.
* 27 February – Christopher Hughes, 77, English professional quizzer (Eggheads). (death announced on this date)

### March

* 1 March – Joey Molland, 77, English songwriter, guitarist (Badfinger)
* 3 March – Dennis Bond, 77, English footballer (Watford, Charlton Athletic, Tottenham Hotspur). (death announced on this date)
* 4 March –
** Bill Dare, 64, English television producer and writer (Dead Ringers, The Now Show, Spitting Image). (death announced on this date)
** Peter Eyre, 85, English cricketer (Derbyshire). (death announced on this date)
* 6 March – Brian James, 70, English punk rock guitarist (The Damned, The Lords of the New Church) and songwriter ("New Rose").
* 8 March – Ray Snowball, 92, English footballer (Darlington). (death announced on this date)
* 9 March – Simon Fisher-Becker, 63, English actor (Puppy Love, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Doctor Who).
* 11 March – Brian Waites, 85, English golfer. (death announced on this date)
* 12 March – Steve Fleet, 87, English football player (Wrexham, Stockport County) and manager (ÍBV). (death announced on this date)
* 16 March –
** Jonathan Durham]], 59, English footballer (Torquay United, Rotherham United). (death announced on this date)
** Doug Laughton, 80, English rugby league player (Widnes, Lancashire, Great Britain national team) and coach. (death announced on this date)* 17 March – Colin McFadyean, 82, English rugby union player (Moseley, national team, British Lions). (death announced on this date)