Events of the year 2024 in England.
Incumbent
Monarch - Charles III Prime Minister - Rishi Sunak (until 5 July), Keir Starmer (from 5 July)
Events January 1 January – Figures published by NHS England show that almost three million people were seen for an urgent cancer check during 2023, a quarter higher than the same period before the COVID-19 pandemic. The treatment statistics fell short of planned targets. A 16-year-old boy who was stabbed to death in Primrose Hill, London, on New Year's Eve, is named by police as Harry Pitman. A 16-year-old boy is arrested in connection with the incident. Sir Martyn Oliver begins his tenure as HM Chief Inspector of Education, Children's Services and Skills. One of his first acts in the role is to announce that Ofsted inspectors will receive training around mental health, following the findings of an inquest into the January 2023 death of headteacher Ruth Perry. 2 January – Following a trial at Chester Crown Court, Alice Wood is found guilty of the May 2022 murder of her fiancé, Ryan Watson, whom she dragged under her car following an argument at a party. Birmingham City sack Wayne Rooney as their manager after 83 days in charge, 15 matches and nine consecutive losses. Applications open for working parents in England to apply for 15 hours per week of funded childcare for two-year-olds starting from April 2024. A further two arrests are made in connection with the death of Harry Pitman. 3 January – Thousands of junior doctors begin a six-day walkout, the longest strike in NHS history, in a dispute over pay. More than 250 flood warnings remain in place throughout England in the wake of Storm Henk. 4 January – Heavy rain continues to cause flooding and disruption to England as waterlogged ground is deluged in the wake of Storm Henk. 5 January – Two teenage boys, aged 16 and 17, are arrested on suspicion of murder following the death of Harry Pitman on New Year's Eve. London Underground staff belonging to the RMT union begin a week of strikes after the breakdown of last minute talks. Around 280 flood alerts remain in place in northeast, eastern and southeast England, with rivers bursting their banks and several hundred properties flooded, forcing people to be evacuated. 6 January – A 16-year-old boy appears before Highbury Magistrates Court charged with the murder of Harry Pitman, and is remanded in custody. 7 January – The RMT union announce that strikes by London Underground workers which would have crippled Tube services for a week commencing 8 January are suspended. The Met Office issues a yellow weather warning for snow and sleet valid from 4am the next day for Greater London and the southeast. 9 January – Following a trial at Maidstone Crown Court, Jan Gholami is convicted of the May 2020 murder of his two-year-old adopted daughter Zahra Ghulami. 12 January – Following a trial and conviction at Maidstone Crown Court, Sian Hedges and Jack Benham are sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum of 19 and 23 years respectively for the November 2020 murder of Hedges' 18-month-old son Alfie Phillips. 13 January – Residents of social housing properties affected with damp and mould, and owned by Rochdale Boroughwide Housing, report being told by their landlord that they breathe too much. 14 January – Transport for London is reported to be testing ways to stop the appearance of "ghost marks" on the walls of stations on the Elizabeth line caused by passengers leaning on the walls. 15 January – The English Premier League charges Everton and Nottingham Forest with breaching its financial rules. 16 January – The Gender Plus Hormone Clinic is approved by the Care Quality Commission to prescribe hormones for those over the age of 16, becoming the first clinic of its type to receive approval from the CQC. 17 January – Lincolnshire County Council launches an inquiry into the death of two-year-old Bronson Battersby, who is believed to have starved to death, after his father, Kenneth, died from a heart attack shortly after Christmas 2023. 18 January – The Independent Office for Police Conduct announces an investigation into whether there were "missed opportunities" to check on two-year-old Bronson Battersby and his father before their deaths. Nuneaton Borough F.C. withdraw from Southern League Premier Division Central. 19 January – Police issue an urgent appeal to trace the mother of a newborn baby girl who was found abandoned wrapped in a towel inside a shopping bag in Newham, east London, the previous evening. The bodies of a man and woman and two girls are found at a property in Norwich. The High Court in London rules that former Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams can be sued in a personal capacity by victims of IRA bomb attacks in England. 20 January – Norfolk Police refers itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct after it emerges officers did not respond to a 999 call from a house near Norwich where the bodies of a family were discovered. A 17-year-old boy, later named as Muhammad Hassam Ali, is stabbed to death in Birmingham city centre in what police believe to be a case of mistaken identity. 21 January – Police investigating the deaths of a family of four near Norwich confirm the two adults died as a result of stab wounds. 22 January – NHS England begins contacting millions of parents in England to advise them to get their children vaccinated against measles as cases of the disease increase. 23 January – A court accepts Valdo Calocane's plea of manslaughter on the basis of diminished responsibility over the 2023 Nottingham attacks. 25 January – Paranoid schizophrenic Valdo Calocane is sentenced to an indefinite detention in a high security hospital for the June 2023 Nottingham stabbings during which he killed three people. Elsa, the baby found abandoned in Newham, London, has been discharged from hospital and placed in foster care, BBC News reports. The British Medical Association announces that senior consultants in England have voted by 51% to reject the UK government's latest pay offer, worth an extra 4.5%. The offer was rejected on a 66% turnout. 26 January – A BBC News investigation finds that more than 60 calls were made to police and social services before the death of nine-year-old Alfie Steele, who was killed by his mother and her partner at their home in Droitwich, Worcestershire, in 2021. 2023 Nottingham attacks: The Attorney General's office announces that it will consider a review of Valdo Calocane's sentence following a referral arguing it was too lenient. NHS England announces an investigation into Calocane's contact with mental health services stretching back to 2020. Leicestershire Police confirm that Calocane was reported for assaulting two colleagues six weeks before he stabbed three people to death in Nottingham, but that no arrest was made. An inquest into the March 2021 death of 14-year-old Mia Janin concludes the north London schoolgirl took her own life after being bullied by boys at her school. 27 January – The UK's first licensed drug safety checking service is launched by charity The Loop in Bristol. Firefighters tackle a major fire at a four-storey building in Liverpool city centre. 28 January – Two boys, aged 15 and 16, die in hospital following a stabbing attack late the previous evening in the Knowle West area of Bristol. A 15-year-old boy and a man, aged 44, are arrested in connection with the incident. An FA Cup match between Wolverhampton Wanderers and West Bromwich Albion is halted for 34 minutes after fighting breaks out between rival supporters at The Hawthorns. 29 January – Police in Leeds appeal for a mother of a baby girl found in a pub toilet the previous evening, and who appears to have been stillborn, to contact them. It is reported the following day that the woman has been identified and is receiving medical treatment. Two teenagers who died following a stabbing incident in Bristol are named as Max Dixon, 16, and Mason Rist, 15. A further two arrests are made in connection with the incident. Leicestershire Police refers itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct over its investigation into two assaults committed by Valdo Calocane weeks before he stabbed three people to death in Nottingham. 30 January – A man armed with a crossbow is shot dead by police after trying to break into a house in Surrey Quays in Southwark, southeast London. He is subsequently named as Bryce Hodgson, a convicted stalker who was banned from the road where he was shot. A BBC investigation reveals that three police officers at Thames Valley Police viewed body camera footage of a woman's groin without reason, but did not face a misconduct hearing for doing so, while a student officer was dismissed for reporting the incident. Thames Valley Police has since referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct. Work begins to dismantle an unauthorised spa building at the home of Captain Tom Moore's daughter after she lost an appeal to save it from demolition. 31 January – Launch of Pharmacy First, an NHS scheme enabling pharmacists in England to issue prescriptions for seven minor ailments, including sore throats and earache, without the need for a referral from a GP. A further three arrests are made in connection with the fatal stabbing of two teenagers in Bristol. A 44-year-old man is subsequently charged with murder.
February 1 February – It becomes a criminal offence to own an American XL Bully dog in England and Wales unless the owner has successfully applied for the dog to be exempt. A further four people are charged in connection with the fatal stabbings of two teenagers in Bristol. 2 February – Alice Wood is sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 18 years for the murder of her boyfriend, whom she ran over with her car following an argument. 3 February – A 68-year-old woman, later named as Esther Martin, dies following an attack by two dogs, believed to be American XL bullies, at Jaywick in Essex. 4 February – Police offer a reward of £20,000 for information leading to the arrest of Abdul Ezedi, who remains at large following an acid attack in Clapham on 31 January. A 17-year-old boy becomes the fourth person to be charged with the murder of two teenagers in Bristol. Jockey Keegan Kirkby dies following a fall from the horse he was riding at a race meeting in Kent. 5 February – A 14-year-old boy becomes the fifth person to be charged with the murder of two teenagers in Bristol. 6 February – Teenagers Abdul Yaro and Kavian Vaughans are sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 21 years for the murder of 17-year-old Shea Gordon, who was stabbed to death at an 18th birthday party in east London in September 2022. The UK government gives Birmingham City Council the go-ahead to increase its Council Tax by 10% from April. 8 February – Analysis carried out by BBC News indicates 2023 was the worst year on record for cancer waiting times in England, with almost 100,000 people not starting treatment within 62 days of a diagnosis. 9 February – The BMA announces that junior doctors in England will stage a strike from 24 to 28 February. Authorities in Cumbria confirm that an invasive alligator snapping turtle, native to the southern United States, was found by a dog walker at Urswick Tarn, near Ulverston, a few days earlier. 10 February – An eight-year-old boy is taken to hospital after being bitten in the head by a dog, believed to be an XL bully, in Bootle, Merseyside. 11 February – The Coventry to Rugby section of the West Coast Main Line is forced to close, disrupting train services between London and the West Midlands, following a landslide that blocked the track. The line reopens again on 13 February. A vigil is held in Warrington, Cheshire, to mark the first anniversary of the murder of transgender teenager Brianna Ghey.