January. Two young black women, Letisha Shakespear and Charlene Ellis, were shot dead during a party at a hairdresser’s at Aston, Birmingham. Eli Hall, a gunman surrounded by police for 15 days at a house in Hackney, was found dead after a fire. The Fire Brigades Union planned strikes. An Underground train was derailed at Chancery Lane. The FT-SE index fell to a seven-year low. Lord Jenkins of Hillhead died, aged 82; Lord Dacre, aged 89; Gianni Agnelli, aged 81; General Leopoldo Galtieri, aged 76. The Pope said: ‘War cannot be decided upon, even when it is a matter of ensuring the common good, except as the very last option.’ The United States built up troops in the Gulf. The Queen had an operation on her right knee.
February. A million rallied in Hyde Park after a march opposing war against Iraq. Mr Tony Blair, the Prime Minister, met the Pope in Rome, as did Mr Tariq Aziz, the deputy prime minister of Iraq.
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