31 January – Dr. Harold Shipman is sentenced to life imprisonment after being found guilty of murdering 15 patients in Greater Manchester between 1995 and 1998. He is also sentenced to four years in prison, to run concurrently, for forging the will of one of his victims.[2] The subsequent enquiry considers him to have killed at least 215.[3]
25 February – 8-year-old Victoria Climbié is murdered by her great aunt and her partner in London. The death will spark a public major changes to child protection policies.[5]
4 April – Charlie Kray, one of the infamous Kray brothers, dies in hospital on the Isle of Wight after suffering a heart attack in Parkhurst Prison at age 73.[9]
14 April – Kenneth Noye, the so-called "M25 killer", sentenced to life imprisonment.[10]
19 April – Tony Martin is sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of a 16-year-old burglar, Fred Barras, he shot dead at his Norfolk farmhouse eight months ago. He is also convicted of the attempted murder of Brendon Fearon, the burglar who was wounded when Martin opened fire.[4]
7 June – Tony Blair receives a hostile reception during a speech at the Women's Institute, where he is heckled and slow hand-clapped by furious members.
10 June – The much-anticipated Millennium Bridge in London opens to the public, but has to close after it starts swaying.
17 June – Alan Shearer, who is set to retire from international football after the European Championships, scores the only goal as England beat holders Germany 1–0 in the second group game.
18 June – Following a series of hooliganism incidents by England fans, UEFA threatens to expel England from Euro 2000 if there is any further trouble.[16]
20 June – England's hopes of winning Euro 2000 are ended when they lose 3–2 to Romania in the final group game, again after taking the lead earlier in the game.[17]
30 June – David Copeland is found guilty of causing the three nail bomb attacks in London last year. He is sentenced to life imprisonment and the trial judge recommends that he should serve at least 30 years before being considered for parole, meaning that he is likely to remain in prison until at least 2029 and the age of 54.[4]
3 August – Rioting erupts on the Paulsgrove estate in Portsmouth after more than 100 people besiege a block of flats allegedly housing a convicted child sex offender, the latest vigilante violence against suspected sex offenders since the beginning of the "naming and shaming" campaign by the News of the World.
18 September – Survivors of the Southall and Ladbroke Grove rail disasters criticise Railtrack for putting costs ahead of safety and causing a series of blunders which led to the tragedies.
7 October – Wembley Stadium closes after 77 years. It is set to re-open in 2003 following a complete reconstruction that will see its capacity raised to 90,000 all-seated. In the final game at the old stadium, the England football team loses 1–0 to Germany in their opening qualifying game for the 2002 World Cup and manager Kevin Keegan resigns after 18 months in charge.
14 October – In the 2000 Super League Grand Final St Helens defeat Wigan Warriors 29–16 at Old Trafford, Manchester before a crowd of 58,132.
30 October – Sven-Göran Eriksson, the 52-year-old Swedish coach of Italian side Lazio, accepts an offer from the Football Association to take charge of the England team for five years commencing next July. Eriksson will be the first foreign manager to take charge of the England team, but until his arrival the England team will be jointly managed by interim coaches Peter Taylor and Howard Wilkinson.
November
7 November – The theft of £350 million worth of diamonds from the Millennium Dome is foiled by police.
16 November – Actor Michael Caine receives a knighthood from the Queen.
27 November – Damilola Taylor, a 10-year-old school boy originally from Nigeria, is stabbed to death on his way home from school in Peckham, London.[27] On 2 December two teenagers and a 39-year-old man are released on police bail after being arrested in connection with the murder.[28]
29 December – Arctic weather conditions blight the country, with heavy snow and temperatures as low as −13C plaguing the country and causing extensive gridlocking on the roads and railways.