20 March – The British Press Awards are held at The Dorchester, Park Lane, London.
28 March – Council workers strike over pension rights.
April
7 April – Mr Justice Peter Smith delivers judgment in the copyright case over The Da Vinci Code finding that Dan Brown had not breached the copyright of Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh. The judgment itself contained a coded message on the whim of the judge.[2]
18 April – Peugeot announces plans to close the 60-year-old car factory at Ryton near Coventry, which it bought from Chrysler in 1979, within the next year.
The Lord Chancellor, Lord Falconer, rejects calls from families of murder victims for all convicted murderers to be sentenced to no less than a minimum of 25 years in prison.[5]
England go through to the World Cup quarter-finals for the second tournament in succession by beating Ecuador 1-0 with a goal from captain David Beckham.
20 September – Television presenter Richard Hammond suffers a serious brain injury when he crashes a jet-powered car whilst filming for Top Gear.
October
1 October – Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 comes into effect, requiring a Fire Risk Assessment for all non-domestic premises in England and Wales.
2 December – A young woman's body is found in a brook near Ipswich; her death is initially treated as "unexplained".[11]
4 December – The woman whose corpse was found in Ipswich two days ago is identified as Gemma Adams, a 25-year-old local prostitute. Her death is reported to be suspicious and police launch a murder inquiry. There are also concerns about another Ipswich prostitute, 19-year-old Tania Nicol, who went missing on 30 October.[12]
8 December – The body of missing Ipswich prostitute Tania Nicol is found on the outskirts of the town.[13]
9 December – Police in Ipswich launch a murder investigation into the death of Tania Nicol and admit that it is likely she met her death at the hands of the same person or people who killed Gemma Adams.[14]
10 December – A third prostitute's body is found in the Ipswich area.[15]
14 December – Two more women are found dead in Ipswich and it is confirmed that both are prostitutes, meaning that the police are now investigating five murders.[16]
12 December – The Ryton car factory closes and Peugeot 206 production is transferred to Slovakia, several months ahead of the scheduled closure date. 2,300 jobs are lost.[17]
18 December – A 37-year-old man is arrested near Felixstowe on suspicion of murdering the five Ipswich prostitutes. He is named as Tom Stephens, a 37-year-old Tescosupermarket worker.[18]
19 December – A second man, 48-year-old Forklift truck driver Steve Wright, is arrested in connection with the Ipswich prostitute murders, while police are given more time to question the first suspect.[19]
21 December – Steve Wright is charged with the Ipswich prostitute murders, while Tom Stephens is released on bail pending further inquiries.[20]
