Events from the year 2011 in the United Kingdom. Incumbents Monarch – Elizabeth II Prime Minister – David Cameron (Coalition) Parliament – 55th Events January 1 January – Inmates riot at Ford Open Prison near Arundel, West Sussex. Windows are smashed and part of the prison is set on fire by prisoners, whose rioting was believed to have been sparked by staff attempts to breathalyse prisoners, amid allegations that alcohol had been smuggled into the prison. 2 January – The Montenegrin Embassy in London writes to Scottish Labour leader Iain Gray, correcting factual inaccuracies and asking him to explain comments he made during First Minister's Questions in December 2010, about the country being involved in "war crimes", "ethnic cleansing" and "a United Nations peace-keeping mission" 4 January – Value added tax increased to 20% from 17.5%. 5 January – Music retailer HMV announces the closure of 60 stores following disappointing Christmas sales – a move which will see the firm lose 10% of its stores and will cost up to 900 people their jobs. 7 January The England cricket team wins The Ashes series 3–1 in Australia. Former Labour MP David Chaytor is jailed for 18 months for fraudulently claiming more than £20,000 in expenses. The film The King's Speech, with Colin Firth playing the role of the stuttering George VI, is released in the UK. It won four Academy Awards, including Best Picture, on 27 February. 9 January – An investigation by The Guardian reveals details of how Metropolitan police officer Mark Kennedy infiltrated dozens of protest groups in 22 countries using the pseudonym Mark Stone. 13 January – 2011 Oldham East and Saddleworth by-election: Debbie Abrahams for Labour holds the seat with a 42.1% vote share and a majority of 3,558 against the Liberal Democrats. The by-election was triggered after previous MP Phil Woolas was found guilty of making false statements against an opponent during the original campaign. 15 January – Three former Church of England bishops are ordained as priests in the new Roman Catholic Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham at Westminster Cathedral. 18 January – A gay couple win a discrimination case against Christian hoteliers who refused to let them stay in a double room. 21 January News of the World phone hacking affair: Andy Coulson, the former editor of the News of the World, resigns from his position as David Cameron's communications director,