the party as a result of their involvement in the cash for influence scandal 30 March – Levi Bellfield, a 41-year-old man two years into a life sentence for murdering two women and attempting to murder a third, is charged with the murder of Surrey teenager Milly Dowler, who disappeared in Walton-on-Thames eight years ago and whose body was found in Hampshire woodland six months later. April 6 April – The Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, visits Buckingham Palace to seek The Queen's permission to dissolve Parliament on 12 April, triggering a general election on 6 May. 9–11 April – Metal detectorist Dave Crisp discovers the Frome Hoard, 52,503 Roman coins dating to the period 253–305, one of the largest such finds in Britain. 12 April Policing and justice powers are devolved from Westminster to the Northern Ireland Executive. As part of the devolution process, David Ford, the leader of the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland, is elected Minister of Justice by the Northern Ireland Assembly. Minutes later, a car bomb explodes outside the MI5 headquarters in County Down, Northern Ireland. The Real IRA claims responsibility for the bomb shortly after its detonation. 15 April A cloud of volcanic ash from the eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland causes the closure of airspace over the United Kingdom and northern and western Europe. ITV1 airs the first of three election debates between Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Nick Clegg ahead of the 2010 general election. The debates are the first such debates to be broadcast live in the run-up to a UK general election. 15–16 April – An opinion poll puts the Labour Party at 28%, behind both the Conservatives on 33% and the Liberal Democrats on 30%, the first time since 1986 that a governing party has slipped into third place in an opinion poll. 17–18 April – Another opinion poll shows the Liberal Democrats with a 1% lead, also the first time since 1986 that an opinion poll has shown a third party on top. Two more polls are released in the next few days which show the Lib Dems in first place, and two more which show them tied with the Conservatives. 21 April – The government announces that British airports will reopen and passenger flights will resume, but officials caution that it will take time for flight schedules to return to normal after the six-day shutdown caused by volcanic