“With Google search over SSL, you can have an end-to-end encrypted search solution between your computer and Google. This secured channel helps protect your search terms and your search results pages from being intercepted by a third party. This provides you with a more secure and private search experience.”

Source: http://www.google.com/support/websearch/bin/answer.py?answer=173733

So why no encrypted search for google.co.uk ?

And is it not a bit silly having the link “Go to Google.co.uk” on https://encrypted.google.com/ and https://www.google.com/ when it takes you back to the unencrypted search option on google.co.uk ?