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. The Charity Commission banned Mr Abu Hamza from speaking at Finsbury Park Mosque. Firemen went on strike again. The space shuttle Columbia broke up, and seven died. Mr Iain Duncan Smith, the Tory leader, called Mr Michael Portillo ‘self-indulgent to the point of madness’. Dolly, the first sheep to be cloned, died, aged six, and was stuffed. Motor cars were charged to use eight square miles of central London.
March. British forces joined the American assault on Iraq. Television viewers saw powerful explosions in Baghdad. Civilian casualties were very low. The US 3rd Infantry moved fast through the desert. US losses were 51 killed by 1 April and British fatalities totalled 27. The Dow-Jones had its best week for 20 years. Adam Faith died, aged 62. Dame Thora Hird died, aged 91. Palestinian suicide bombers struck in Israel.
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