Eleven years after the Labour Party won the general election in a landslide victory, leaving the Conservatives in tatters after 18 years in power, Labour fell short on the local elections as they suffered their worst council results in at least 40 years. Labour won 24% of votes cast in England and Wales, behind the Tories on 44% and Lib Dems on 25%. The General Secretary quits and claimed Labour had lost touch with ordinary people and that Mr Brown (Prime Minister) had lost his ability to lead.

Boris Johnson was elected Mayor of London, capping a catastrophic day for Labour in the local elections. The Conservative candidate seized City Hall from Labour's two-term incumbent Ken Livingstone with Liberal Democrat Brian Paddick in third place. Mr Johnson polled 1,168,738 votes to Mr Livingstone's 1,028,966. The result heaped further pressure on Prime Minister Gordon Brown after his party plunged to its worst council election results in four decades.

Ali Carter fired a superb 147 to become the second player the 2008 World Championship to claim a maximum break. The 28-year-old recorded his first 147 in competition play to take an 8-7 lead in his quarter-final clash against Peter Ebdon at The Crucible. It came 24 hours after Ronnie O'Sullivan's maximum and is the first time there have been two 147 breaks in the same ranking tournament.

Joe Calzaghe battled back from a stunning first round knockdown to score a disputed split decision victory over Bernard Hopkins in Las Vegas and reign as light-heavyweight world number one. Calzaghe extended his unbeaten record to 45 fights but only after by far the toughest test of his career against 43-year-old Hopkins, whose big right hand had got him off to a flying start.

UK interest rates were cut to 5% from 5.25% by the Bank of England in an attempt to spur the economy in the face of the global credit crunch. It is the central bank's third cut in interest rates since early December 2007.

Damilola Taylor died in a crime that shocked Britain. Eight agonising years later his inspiring mother Gloria died – of a broken heart. She had bravely endured three harrowing trials and police bungles to win justice for her son – and campaigned to help other youngsters. Her unflinching dignity and resolve throughout touched the hearts of millions worldwide. Gloria Taylor was 57 when she died.

Charlton Heston, who won a best actor Oscar for his starring role in the epic Ben-Hur, died aged 84. Heston also portrayed Michelangelo, El Cid and other heroic figures in movie epics of the 1950s and 1960s.

Europe's sophisticated new space truck, the ATV, docked with the International Space Station. The unmanned vessel carried just under five tonnes of food, water, air, fuel and equipment for the orbiting platform's three astronauts.

Virender Sehwag compiled the fastest triple century in Test history in the first Test against South Africa. Sehwag, hit 42 fours and five sixes on his way to 300 from just 278 balls, finished the third day unbeaten on 309 to equal his own record of the highest score by an Indian in a Test match. The 29-year-old became the third cricketer - and the first Indian - to record two triple hundreds after Sir Donald Bradman and Brian Lara.

David Beckham won his 100th cap for England but had little cause to celebrate as a Franck Ribery penalty earned France a 1-0 victory in Paris. Beckham received the biggest cheer of the night on Wednesday when he was substituted after 63 minutes, the Stade de France crowd giving the world's most famous footballer a standing ovation to mark his 100th cap.

Storms, gale force winds, sleet and snow made this one of the dreariest Easter weekends in years. Easter being earlier in the year, experienced the wintry weather and the bad weather for motorists came just as a spate of railway engineering projects severely limited the rail network across the UK.

Cristiano Ronaldo broke George Best’s scoring record in stunning style, the Manchester United star brought his tally to an incredible 33 goals – one more than the Old Trafford legend’s best haul 40 years ago. Two goal brace in a match against Bolton Wanderers to secure a 2-0 win.

Visionary science fiction writer Sir Arthur C Clarke, author of more than 100 books, died at the age of 90 in Sri Lanka. Once called "the first dweller in the electronic cottage", his vision of the future, and its technology - popularised in films like 2001: A Space Odyssey - captured the popular imagination. Sir Arthur's vivid - and detailed - descriptions of space shuttles, super-computers and rapid communications systems were enjoyed by millions of readers around the world. Arthur Charles Clarke was born in Minehead, a town in Somerset in the south-west of England, on 16 December 1917.

Heather Mills was awarded £24.3m in her divorce settlement with estranged husband Sir Paul McCartney. Sir Paul, 65, married the former model and charity campaigner Mills, 40, in 2002 but they split four years later, blaming media intrusion into their private lives.

The Queen officially opened Heathrow Airport's controversial Terminal 5, describing it as "a 21st Century gateway to Britain". Hundreds of airport and construction workers attended the opening ceremony. Some 60,000 people have worked a total of 100 million man hours to build Terminal 5 since construction began in September 2002. Built on the site of a former sewage works at the western end of the existing airport, Terminal 5 has been designed by 2006 Stirling Prize winners Rogers Stirk Harbour and Partners.

Rain and fierce winds hit many parts of the UK, as what could be winter's worst storm moves in from the Atlantic. Read

Championship strugglers beat Cup holders Chelsea in the last eight after previously defeating Liverpool. Cardiff stunned Middlesbrough 2-0, West Brom crushed Bristol Rovers 5-1, while Portsmouth are the only top-flight team left after beating Manchester United 1-0.

Calne town crier John Bridges died at the age of 75. Mr Bridges, of North Street, won a competition to be the voice of the town in 2003. The former town crier, who served in the Army, police force and was also a publican, died of bowel cancer.

Britain's Andy Murray produced some glorious tennis to beat world number one Roger Federer in a three-set thriller at the Dubai Championship. The unseeded Scot, 20, won 6-7 (6-8) 6-3 6-4 to dump the four-times champion out in the first round

Prince Harry was withdrawn from active service in Afghanistan after news of his secret deployment leaked out. The 23-year-old royal, who spent 10 weeks serving in Helmand Province, was flown back to the UK amid concerns for his safety. The move followed the collapse of a news blackout deal over his tour of duty, which was broken by foreign media.

The biggest earthquake in the UK for nearly 25 years shook homes across large parts of England. People in Newcastle, Yorkshire, London, Manchester, the Midlands and Norfolk and also parts of Wales, felt the tremor just before 0100 GMT. The British Geological Survey said the epicentre of the 5.3 magnitude quake was near Market Rasen in Lincolnshire.

Soul singer Duffy, who was the runner-up in the BBC's Sound of 2008 search for new talent, topped the UK singles chart for a second week. The rising Welsh star entered the chart at number one last week with Mercy.

Tottenham came from a goal down to beat Chelsea at Wembley and win the Carling Cup after extra-time. Jonathan Woodgate won it when Petr Cech disastrously punched the ball on to his head from Jermaine Jenas's free-kick.

Commons Speaker Michael Martin came under increased pressure as more details of his expenses claims are published in the National Papers.

Oxford Coroner Andrew Walker criticised the Ministry of Defence for failing to supply soldiers in Afghanistan with basic equipment. Speaking at the inquest into the death of British soldier Captain James Philippson, Mr Walker said the soldiers were "defeated not by the terrorists but by the lack of basic equipment". It is not the first time the Oxfordshire Assistant Deputy Coroner has criticised the British and US military for failing UK soldiers who have lost their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Six ticketholders from the UK were among those who shared a £96 million-plus EuroMillions jackpot. Nobody matched all five main numbers and the two lucky stars, so the rollover jackpot carried down to the next prize level. The 16 winners each receive £6,462,181.30. If a single ticketholder had scooped the jackpot it would have been the biggest payout of its kind in the world. The UK had the most winning tickets, followed by five from France, two from Switzerland, and one each from Austria, Belgium and Portugal.

The Bank of England's rate-setting committee cut interest rates to 5.25% from 5.5% amid signs that the UK economy is slowing down. Analysts widely predicted the move, which followed recent cuts in the US, where the Federal Reserve slashed its borrowing costs to 3% from 4.25%.

The most heavily polluting lorries are to face charges of £200 per day to enter Greater London as Britain's first low emission zone (LEZ) comes into force

The Anglo-Dutch oil firm Royal Dutch Shell has reported record annual profits for a UK-listed company. Its profit measured by current cost of supply was $27.56bn (£13.9bn) for 2007, beating its own 2006 record of £12.9bn. Much of the rise in profits has been attributed to rising oil prices, which stood at about $91 a barrel (2008) compared with $57 in 2007.

Television presenter and prankster Jeremy Beadle died aged 59. One of ITV's most popular hosts during the 1980s, he was admitted to hospital suffering from pneumonia. He was best known for fronting You've Been Framed, Game For a Laugh and Beadle's About, but raised millions for the charity Children with Leukaemia.