No celebrations for the UK's 200th birthday 
By Robert Hardman
 

THE United Kingdom will not be celebrating its own 200th birthday, the Government has declared. Although the bicentenary of the 1801 Act of Union takes place in less than a year, there is to be no official recognition of the fact.

 In response to a written parliamentary question asking what celebrations were planned, Baroness Scotland of Asthal, the junior Foreign Office minister, replied briefly: "None."

 The question was put by Lord Laird, an Ulster Unionist life peer. He said yesterday: "Most countries would use their bicentenary as an opportunity to do something, but the only answer I've had is a four-letter word. A country which forgets its history is doomed."

 It was on Jan 1, 1801 that the Irish parliament was absorbed into the British Parliament to create the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. The full title was altered after Irish independence, to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Lord Laird said that he did not expect lavish celebrations, but some recognition of an important date. "I would have thought that, at the very least, there could be an official stamp. I suppose this is another example of Cool Britannia. Look at the events the Americans and the French organised for their bicentenaries."

 A Downing Street spokesman said that any celebration was a matter for the Foreign Office. The Foreign Office refused to expand on Lady Scotland's answer. The Government will, however, be marking another country's centenary which falls on the same day.

 On Jan 1, 1901, Britain's Australian colonies became the Commonwealth of Australia, and ministers are planning extensive celebrations including "Australia Week".