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The number of would-be migrants known to have reached England in small boats from France in the last two months of 2018 reached 239, with 40 making the crossing on Christmas Day. Most said they were Iranian. Sajid Javid, the Home Secretary, transferred two Border Force cutters to help the one patrolling the Channel. The government awarded a £13.8 million contract to Seaborne Freight to run goods ferries between Ramsgate and Ostend in the event of Britain leaving the European Union without an agreement; a £46 million contract went to Brittany Ferries and one worth £42 million to the Danish shipping firm DFDS. Without the slightest encouragement, leaders of political parties issued New Year messages. ‘If Parliament backs a deal, Britain can turn a corner,’ Theresa May, the Prime Minister said. Dame June Whitfield, the comedy actor, died aged 93. Sister Wendy Beckett, the eremitic nun who made television programmes about art, died aged 88.
Gatwick offered a £50,000 reward for a solution to the drones that had closed the airport before Christmas, affecting 140,000 travellers. A local couple arrested and held for 36 hours said they felt ‘completely violated’. The FTSE 100 index ended 2018 12 per cent down. HMV went into administration for the second time in six years; its shops remained open while KPMG sought buyers. A cap came into force on the unit price of energy and the supplier’s standing charge. New fishing quotas were introduced, with the unintended consequence of capping expeditions if the wrong sort of fish were caught. Jeremy Corbyn bought a pair of half-rim spectacles.
Twiggy became a Dame in the New Year’s honours list, and Michael Palin was knighted, as was Alastair Cook, England cricket captain from 2012 to 2016.
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