1998 in the United Kingdom

1998 in the United Kingdom:
Other years
1996 \| 1997 \| 1998 \| 1999 \| 2000
Sport and Music
British and Irish current events
1998 English cricket season
Football England \| Scotland
1998 in British music

Events from the year 1998 in the United Kingdom.

1 Incumbents
2 Events
- 2.1 Undated
3 Publications
4 Births
5 Deaths
6 References
7 See also

[edit] Incumbents

Monarch - HM Queen Elizabeth II
Prime Minister - Tony Blair, Labour Party

[edit] Events

1 January - The UK takes over the Presidency of the EC's Council of Ministers until 30 June.^[1]
16 January - two 10-year-olds go on trial, the youngest ever to be accused of rape.^[2]
7 February–22 February - Great Britain and Northern Ireland compete at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan, and win one bronze medal.
31 March - Rolls-Royce Motors acquired by the German car manufacturer BMW.^[3]
April - Vauxhall launches its fourth generation Astra small family car range. The initial range consists of hatchbacks and estates, with coupe and saloons due next year and a cabriolet in two years.
10 April - The Good Friday Agreement, an agreement between the UK and Irish governments, and the main political parties in Northern Ireland is signed.^[4]
2 May - Kevin Lloyd, one of Britain's best-known TV actors for his role of Tosh Lines in The Bill (from which he was sacked last week), dies from an alcoholism-related illness at the age of 49. [1]
3 May -
- Former footballer Justin Fashanu, Britain's first black £1million player, is found hanged in a lock-up garage in East London. [2]
  - Arsenal seal the Premier League title with a 4-0 win over Everton. [3]
9 May - Eurovision Song Contest 1998 held in Birmingham at the National Indoor Arena.
16 May - Arsenal beat Newcastle United 2-0 in the FA Cup final to complete the double. [4]
23 May - A referendum on the Good Friday Agreement is held in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland with 95% and 71% support respectively.^[5]
12 July - Three young children are killed in a loyalist arson attack in Ballymoney, Northern Ireland.^[6]
31 July - The government announces a total ban on the use of landmines by the British military.^[7]
10 August - Manchester United TV begins broadcasting, making Manchester United F.C. the world's first football team to have its own television channel.^[3]
15 August - A car bomb explodes in the Northern Irish market town of Omagh, killing 29 people - the worst terrorist atrocity in the history of the Northern Ireland troubles.^[8]
24 August - First RFID human implantation tested in the United Kingdom by Kevin Warwick at the University of Reading.
September - Ford launches its new Focus range of family hatchbacks, saloons and estates, which will eventually replace the long-running Escort.
8 September - the Real IRA announces a ceasefire.^[9]
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.
10 September - In Northern Ireland, David Trimble of the Ulster Unionist Party meets Gerry Adams of Sinn Féin — the first such meeting between Republicans and Loyalists since 1922.^[3]
16 September - The Union Jack dress worn by the Spice Girl Geri Halliwell is sold at Sotheby's for £41,320.^[3]
November - Peugeot launches the 206 supermini, which is being built at the Ryton plant near Coventry.
16 October - Police place General Augusto Pinochet, the 83-year-old former dictator of Chile, into house arrest during his medical treatment in Britain at the request of Spain.
5 November - Moors Murderer Myra Hindley loses a second High Court appeal (the first was rejected on 19 December 1997) against the whole life tariff which has been imposed upon her by the three most recent Home Secretaries.
9 November - Human Rights Act 1998 receives Royal Assent.
24 November - The Queen's Speech is interrupted by MPs and peers, when the Queen began to outlay the government's plan to abolish the rights of 700 hereditary peers to sit and vote in the House of Lords.^[10]
26 November - Tony Blair becomes the first Prime Minister of the United Kingdom to address the Oireachtas (Irish parliament).^[3]
December
- The Ford Focus is voted European Car of the Year.
- Killing of British tourists in Yemen: Three British tourists are shot in Yemen.^[11]
10 December
- John Pople wins the Nobel Prize in Chemistry "for his development of computational methods in quantum chemistry".^[12]
- John Hume and David Trimble, Baron Trimble win the Nobel Peace Prize.^[13]