Review of the year
From Covid variants and royal controversy to sporting highs and lows, TED HENNESSEY looks back at 2021
DESPITE moving into the second year of living with the coronavirus pandemic, optimism was in the air at the start of 2021 as the UK’s second vaccine against Covid-19, developed by Oxford-AstraZeneca, was rolled out.
As the months went by, more people received their first, second and then booster jabs. However, early in January, England was placed into its third national lockdown, as the number of new daily confirmed cases surpassed 60,000 for the first time. Schools closed and
GCSE and A-level exams in England were replaced by teacher assessments.
As this occurred, dozens of care home residents were among people evacuated to safety after Storm Christoph brought heavy rain and flooding to parts of northern England and Wales. Also that month WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange won his fight to avoid extradition to the United States.
February saw the death of charity fundraiser Captain Sir Tom Moore at the age of 100.
It came as Public Health England (PHE) began investigating strains of coronavirus which first arose in Kent. The E484K mutation, also present in the South African variant, was found in at least eight postcode areas of England. Elsewhere, it was ruled that Isis bride Shamima Begum could not return to the UK to pursue an appeal against the removal of her British citizenship.
However, the news cycle in February and the following few months would be dominated by the royal family after the Duke of Edinburgh was admitted to hospital, while the Duke and Duchess of Sussex announced they would no longer be working members of the family.
In March, Harry and Meghan took part in their controversial TV interview with Oprah Winfrey, during which the duchess accused a member of the royal family of making a racist comment about Archie, before revealing she had suicidal thoughts.
Buckingham Palace reacted by saying it was taking their claims “very seriously”.
As the story rumbled on, police were searching for missing 33-yearold Sarah Everard, before discovering her body in Kent woodland.
Serving Metropolitan Police officer Wayne Couzens was arrested and charged with her murder and a vigil was held, leading to clashes between attendees and police.
A one-minute silence was held on March 23 to mark a year since the pandemic began, days before MPs voted to extend emergency Covid-19 powers by six months.
April saw the death of Prince Philip at Windsor Castle at the age of 99. His funeral was held over a week later, under Covid restrictions, with emotional scenes showing the Queen sitting alone in St George’s Chapel.
Football fans across the nation were left outraged as 12 football clubs, including the “big six” from the Premier League, agreed to join a new breakaway European Super League, bringing condemnation from Uefa, Fifa and Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Protests took place and following the backlash, all six English clubs withdrew days later.
It came as scientists warned of a new Covid variant originating in India, prompting the Prime Minister to cancel a scheduled trip to the country.
Pictures would emerge in June of Health Secretary Matt Hancock kissing an aide in his office. Mr Hancock was replaced by Sajid Javid after leaving the role a day later.
However, as the sun began to shine, the sporting world started to dominate headlines, with England embarking on what would be a historic run in the delayed Euro 2020 championships. The Three Lions, marched all the way to the final at Wembley Stadium, beating Germany along the way. A close match in July against Italy saw England pushed into a tense penalty shootout, which ended in heartbreak as Italy lifted the trophy. The royal family was back in the headlines that month as Jeffrey Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre started legal action against the Duke of York for allegedly sexually assaulting her when she was a teenager. Allegations the Duke denies. September saw a sporting fairy tale as 18-year-old Emma Raducanu became the first British woman to win a grand slam singles title since Virginia Wade won Wimbledon in 1977, as she stormed to the US Open crown.
Later that month, Wayne Couzens, 48, was handed a whole life sentence over the death of Sarah Everard.
But it was shortages which dominated the headlines, as concerns rose over a lack of HGV drivers and a shortage of fuel at petrol stations, leading to panicbuying among consumers.
Over this month and the next few, Insulate Britain carried out roadblocks across the UK, sparking clashes with motorists and police.
As autumn arrived, so did tragedy, Conservative MP Sir David Amess died after being stabbed multiple times at a meeting with constituents in Essex. Ali Harbi Ali, 25, was charged with murder and preparing acts of terrorism.
The Queen missed a number of events – including Cop26, Remembrance Sunday and the General Synod service – as doctors advised her to rest.
On Remembrance Sunday a suspected terrorist blew himself up outside Liverpool Women’s Hospital, raising the UK terror threat level to severe.
That week also saw Azeem Rafiq appear before the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport select committee to share his emotional and explosive experience of racism in cricket.
In the Channel, 27 people died after a boat capsized while travelling to England. The incident led to political tension between the UK and France.
The emergence of the Omicron variant sparked fears of another Christmas with restrictions in place.
Its discovery meant an introduction of travel restrictions and the need to wear face masks in shops and on public transport. In December, 32-year-old Emma Tustin was jailed for life for the murder of six-year-old Arthur LabinjoHughes after she cruelly abused, starved and poisoned him. His father, Thomas Hughes, 29, was found guilty of his manslaughter.
Later in the month the High Court ruled that Julian Assange could be extradited to the US, overturning the earlier judgment.
Meanwhile, allegations of rule-breaking festivities in the run-up to Christmas 2020 plagued Downing Street.
Leaked footage from No 10’s £2.6 million press briefing room showed former press secretary Allegra Stratton laughing as she appeared to rehearse answers to questions over an alleged lockdown-busting Christmas party. Ms Stratton later resigned.
Boris Johnson also faced questions over whether he misled his ministerial standards adviser during a probe into the funding of lavish refurbishments to his flat in No 11. In the middle of the political drama, he and his wife Carrie announced the birth of their second child, a baby girl named Romy.