What is UTC?¶

UTC is Coordinated Universal Time, a stable global reference used to align systems across locations. It does not change for daylight saving and is not always the same as UK local time.

Local UK time changes seasonally¶

During Greenwich Mean Time, UK local time matches UTC; during British Summer Time it is one hour ahead. A value can be marked Z, UTC or +00:00, but field definition should still confirm whether it is stored, displayed or converted UTC.

Preserve the reference and conversion¶

Keep original timestamp and zone indicator and determine whether a dashboard changed it. When comparing CCTV or witness evidence, apply the rule for the relevant date rather than the current offset.

Report UTC and local representations explicitly so readers can see they describe the same moment.