Events from the year 2021 in the United Kingdom. For a second year, the COVID-19 pandemic largely dominated events in the UK, as in most of the world.
Incumbents Monarch – Elizabeth II Prime Minister – Boris Johnson (Conservative)
Events
January 2 January – COVID-19 in the UK: A record high daily positive test figure is reported at 57,725, as the new strain of the virus continues to spread. 4 January COVID-19 in the UK: In a televised address, Boris Johnson announces a new, third COVID-19 lockdown for England, with people ordered to stay at home, and all schools and colleges to switch to remote learning from 5 January. This is expected to last until at least mid-February. A new record high daily positive test figure is reported at 58,784. The UK's second vaccine against COVID-19, developed by Oxford–AstraZeneca, begins to be rolled out. Most of England's primary schools reopen after the Christmas break, amid concerns over whether pupils should be returning during the current level of COVID infections. Most schools close again the following day. The Joint Biosecurity Centre recommends that the COVID-19 alert level is moved from 4 to 5, indicating a "material risk of healthcare services being overwhelmed". Nicola Sturgeon announces tougher restrictions for mainland Scotland to contain the new strain of the virus, implementing a stay-at-home order from midnight and delaying the return to school for pupils until February. The extradition of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange from the UK to the US is blocked by a court in London, due to concerns over his mental health. 5 January – COVID-19 in the UK: The number of new daily confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the UK surpasses 60,000 for the first time since the pandemic began, at 60,916. 6 January COVID-19 in the UK: Education Secretary Gavin Williamson announces that GCSE and A-Level exams in England this summer will be replaced by teacher assessments, telling MPs he would "trust in teachers rather than algorithms". Another record daily case figure is reported, with 62,322 new infections. The daily number of deaths from the virus exceeds 1,000 for the first time since April 2020. 7 January – COVID-19 in the UK: Two anti-inflammatory medications, tocilizumab and sarilumab, are found to cut deaths by a quarter in patients who are sickest with COVID-19. 8 January COVID-19 in the UK: A third vaccine is approved for public use, made by US company Moderna and offering 94% protection from the virus. A major incident is declared in London by mayor Sadiq Khan, stating that the spread of the virus is "out of control" in the capital. The highest number of daily deaths since the pandemic began is recorded at 1,325. A new record high daily positive test figure is reported at 68,053. 9 January – COVID-19 in the UK: Buckingham Palace say that the Queen and Prince Philip have both received the first doses of their COVID-19 vaccinations at Windsor Castle. 10 January COVID-19 in the UK: Professor Peter Horby, chair of the government's New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group says on The Andrew Marr Show "we are now in the eye of the storm" and "it was bad in March, it's much worse now." Health Secretary Matt Hancock tells the BBC that everybody in the top four most vulnerable groups will be offered a vaccine by 15 February, while every adult in the UK will be offered one by the autumn. 11 January – Khairi Saadallah is sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of three men and the attempted murder of three others during a stabbing in Forbury Gardens in Reading in June 2020. 13 January – COVID-19 in the UK: The highest daily death toll since the pandemic began is recorded, at 1,564. 14 January – COVID-19 in the UK: The government bans travel from South America and Portugal over concerns of a new Brazilian variant of COVID-19. 15 January – COVID-19 in the UK: Boris Johnson announces that the UK is to close all travel corridors from 18 January to "protect against the risk of as yet unidentified new strains" of COVID-19, forcing all passengers travelling to the UK to produce a negative test result. 18 January – COVID-19 in the UK: Figures compiled by Our World in Data (OWID) show that the seven-day average for this week in the UK is the highest death rate per million population from COVID-19 of any country in the world after an average of 935 daily deaths were recorded, the equivalent of more than 16 people in every million dying each day from the virus. 19 January COVID-19 in the UK: Based on testing for antibodies against SARS-CoV-2, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimates that 1 in 10 people across the UK had the virus by December 2020 – nearly double the November figure. The highest daily death toll since the pandemic began is recorded, at 1,610. A record daily high of 343,000 people are given a COVID-19 vaccination. 20 January COVID-19 in the UK: The highest daily death toll since the pandemic began is recorded, at 1,820. A record daily high of 363,508 people are given a COVID-19 vaccination, bringing the total number of first doses so far to 4,973,248 and 464,036 second doses. 21 January COVID-19 in the UK: Glastonbury Festival is cancelled for the second year running as a result of the pandemic. Arlene Foster announces that the lockdown in Northern Ireland will be extended to at least 5 March, adding that restrictions may have to remain in place until after the Easter holidays in April. Storm Christoph: Five "danger to life" flood warnings are put in place across North West England and Wales after hundreds of homes are evacuated overnight due to widespread flooding caused by heavy rain and snow. 22 January COVID-19 in the UK: The R number is reported to have fallen to between 0.8 and 1 for the first time since the beginning of December 2020. The latest analysis of UK data suggests that the new viral strain may be up to 30% deadlier. Four men are jailed for the manslaughter of 39 Vietnamese migrants after they were found dead in a lorry container in Essex in October 2019. 25 January – Online retailer Boohoo acquires the Debenhams brand and website for £55m after the department store went into administration in April 2020, but it does not retain any of its stores, putting up to 12,000 jobs at risk. 26 January – COVID-19 in the UK: Boris Johnson says he is "deeply sorry for every life that has been lost" as the number of deaths from COVID-19 in the UK exceeds 100,000. 27 January COVID-19 in the UK: Boris Johnson confirms that schools in England will not be able to reopen to all pupils after the February half-term as planned, but could do so from 8 March "at the earliest". He adds that he hopes a "gradual and phased" relaxation of COVID-19 restrictions can begin in early March. Home Secretary Priti Patel announces that people travelling from "red list" countries considered to be COVID-19 hotspots will be required to quarantine in government hotels, while anyone wishing to travel abroad will need to prove that they are making an essential trip. 28 January – COVID-19 in the UK: A third vaccine, Novavax, which will be manufactured in Stockton-on-Tees, is shown to be 89.3% effective against the virus in a two-dose regimen, following large-scale UK trials. 60 million doses are secured by the government. 29 January – COVID-19 in the UK: A fourth vaccine, Ad26.COV2.S, is shown to be 66% effective against the virus in a one-dose regimen. With 30 million doses ordered, Matt Hancock tells reporters that it could "significantly bolster" the UK's vaccine programme if approved by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). 30 January – COVID-19 in the UK: A record daily high of 598,389 people are given a coronavirus vaccination, bringing the total so far to 8,977,329. 31 January – Flu cases are reported to have fallen by more than 95%, reaching the lowest levels seen in 130 years, believed to be due to the COVID-19 lockdown and new health habits.
February 1 February COVID-19 in the UK: The government orders an extra 40 million doses of VLA2001, a vaccine from French biotech company Valneva SE, for availability later in the year and into 2022. Door-to-door testing is launched, in an attempt to contain the spread of a new South African variant of the virus (later known as the Beta variant), after cases are found in Hertfordshire, Surrey, Kent, Walsall, Sefton and three London boroughs. Online retailer ASOS acquires the Topshop, Topman and Miss Selfridge brands for £330m, but does not retain any of the brands' 70 stores, putting 2,500 jobs at risk. 2 February COVID-19 in the UK: Public Health England (PHE) says that the UK variant of COVID-19 has mutated again and that they are investigating "worrying" new changes. Tests show cases of the new strain have a mutation called E484K that is present in the South African variant. A study by the University of Oxford suggests that a single dose of the Oxford–AstraZeneca vaccine could lead to a "substantial" fall in the transmission of COVID-19, and protection is 76% effective during the three months after the first dose is given, rising to 82% after a second dose. Captain Sir Tom Moore, who raised over £32m for NHS Charities Together, dies at the age of 100 after contracting COVID-19. 3 February – COVID-19 in the UK: The number of people receiving a vaccine dose in the UK exceeds 10 million. 4 February – Three people are killed, including an alleged assailant in a road crash, after an attack at the University Hospital Crosshouse and a related stabbing nearby in Kilmarnock, East Ayrshire, Scotland. Police Scotland say the incidents are thought to be connected but not terror-related. 5 February COVID-19 in the UK: Health Secretary Matt Hancock confirms the government's "ambition" to offer all adults over the age of 50 a first COVID-19 vaccination by the end of May. One man is killed and ten people are injured after five stabbing incidents take place in the space of two hours in the London Borough of Croydon. Metropolitan Police describe the stabbings as "needless and abhorrent" and say extra police officers will be deployed across south London. 7 February COVID-19 in the UK: A not yet peer-reviewed study by the University of Oxford suggests the Oxford–AstraZeneca vaccine offers minimal protection against mild disease from the South African variant of the virus but does protect against severe disease. Oxford lead vaccine developer, Professor Sarah Gilbert, says a modified version of the vaccine capable of tackling the South African variant should be ready by the autumn, and that "efforts are underway to develop a new generation of vaccines that will allow protection to be redirected to emerging variants as booster jabs". The number of people receiving a vaccine dose in the UK exceeds 12 million. 8–10 February – Snow and ice causes travel disruption across much of the country. A temperature of −17.1 °C is recorded in Altnaharra, Scotland, the lowest reading in the UK since December 2010. 9 February COVID-19 in the UK: The government announces tough new measures for travellers. UK and Irish residents returning from 33 red list countries will be charged £1,750 to quarantine in a government-sanctioned hotel for 10 days, with fines of up to £10,000 for those who fail to do so. A prison sentence of up to 10 years is to be introduced for those who lie on their passenger locator forms about visiting a red list country. Cumbria County Council suspends plans for Woodhouse Colliery, the UK's first deep coal mine since 1987, following strong criticism over its environmental damage and carbon emissions. 10 February – David Wilson is sentenced to 25 years imprisonment for 96 sex offences against 51 boys, which he committed between May 2016 and April 2020. 11 February COVID-19 in the UK: