Events from the year 2004 in the United Kingdom. Incumbents Monarch – Elizabeth II Prime Minister – Tony Blair (Labour) Parliament – 53rd Events January 1 January – Papers released under the Thirty Year Rule reveal that, contrary to what was believed at the time, Princess Margaret would not have lost her title nor Civil List payments had she married Group Captain Peter Townsend, a divorced War hero, in the 1950s. 3 January – The BBC cancels the appearance of Coca-Cola sponsorship credits in the music charts on its BBC One Top of the Pops show, after criticism from politicians and health campaigners that it would be promoting junk food and unhealthy drink products to teenagers. 6 January The coroner's inquest into the death of Diana, Princess of Wales and her lover Dodi Al-Fayed is officially opened. The Daily Mirror publishes the blacked out portion of a letter wherein Diana, Princess of Wales alleged that someone was trying to kill her. 7 January – It is announced that a record of nearly 2,600,000 new cars were sold in the United Kingdom during 2003. 8 January – is christened by Elizabeth II. 13 January Labour politician Robin Cook says that the British Museum's Parthenon Marbles should be returned to Greece. 57-year-old serial killer Dr. Harold Shipman is found dead in his cell one day prior to his fifty-eighth birthday following his suicide by hanging. The Bichard Inquiry into events preceding the Soham murders formally opens. 14 January – A 45-year-old Sudanese man travelling from Washington Dulles International Airport to Dubai Airport is arrested en route at London's Heathrow Airport on suspicion of carrying five bullets in his coat pocket. 19 January – The English Court of Appeal calls for an end to the prosecution of parents whose babies may have died of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (cot death) in cases where the only evidence is contended expert testimony. 21 January – The Secretary of State for Defence publishes a White paper Delivering Security in a Changing World, detailing wide-ranging reform of the country's armed forces. 27 January – The vote of Scottish Labour MPs, whose constituents are unaffected by the legislation, help Prime Minister Tony Blair narrowly defeat a rebellion in his own party over the Higher Education Bill – a highly controversial bill to reform higher education funding in England, including the introduction of increased and variable tuition fees –