Pensioners attempt to smash Magna Carta glass in Just Stop Oil protest
- Pair of elderly protestors brazenly hammered protective glass at British Library
A pair of elderly protestors brazenly hammered the glass protecting the Magna Carta in an attempt to smash it, before gluing themselves to the display as part of a Just Stop Oil protest.
Reverend Dr Sue Parfitt, 82, an active Anglican priest, author, and retired psychotherapist from Bristol, and Judy Bruce, 85, a retired biology teacher from Swansea, entered the British Library and used a hammer and chisel to damage the glass enclosure around the ancient tome, at around 10.40am on Friday morning.
The pair then proceeded to glue themselves to the enclosure, while holding a sign reading: ‘The government is breaking the law’ and could be heard saying: ‘Is the government above the law?’
They carried out the action to demand an emergency plan to stop new oil and gas licenses by 2030.
Met Police confirmed they have been arrested and are currently in custody.
Reverend Dr Sue Parfitt, 82, an active Anglican priest, and Judy Bruce, 85, a retired biology teacher from Swansea, entered the British Library and used a hammer and chisel to shatter the glass enclosure around the ancient tome
In video footage of the incident, the pair can be seen going up to the toughened glass before using a hammer and chisel to cause damage to the casing.
Judy Bruce then states aloud: ‘This famous document is about the rule of law and standing up against an abuse of power.
‘And second of all, our government is breaking it’s own laws.’
Reverend Dr Parfitt then added: ‘As a Christian I am compelled to do all that I can to alleviate the appalling suffering that’s already coming down the line and is here already.’
As the video footage ended, the pair then appeared to glue their hands to the display glass.
The Magna Carta is a revered legal document dating back more than 800 years ago, which established for the first time that neither monarch nor government was above the law and set out principles of liberty that have endured through the centuries.
This famous royal charter of rights was agreed by King John at Runnymede, near Windsor, on 15 June 1215.
A statement from the British Library confirmed the hardened glass enclosure was ‘minimally damaged’, while the Magna Carta itself remains intact.
The statement said: ‘An incident occurred at the British Library on Friday 10 May in which two individuals attacked the toughened glass case containing the Magna Carta in the Library’s Treasures Gallery.
‘The Library’s Security team intervened to prevent further damage to the case, which was minimal.
‘The police were notified and the Magna Carta itself remains undamaged.
‘The Treasures Gallery is temporarily closed until further notice.’
In a statement appearing on the Just Stop Oil website this morning, protestor Judy Bruce said: ‘This week 400 respected scientists – contributors to IPCC reports – are saying we are ‘woefully unprepared’ for what’s coming: 2.5 or more degrees of heating above pre industrial levels.’
‘Instead of acting, our dysfunctional government is like the three monkeys: ‘see nothing, hear nothing, say nothing, pretend we’ve got 25 years’.. We haven’t! We must get off our addiction to oil and gas by 2030 – starting now.’
Meanwhile Reverend Dr Sue Parfitt said: ‘The Magna Carta is rightly revered, being of great importance to our history, to our freedoms and to our laws.
‘But there will be no freedom, no lawfulness, no rights, if we allow climate breakdown to become the catastrophe that is now threatened.’
King John issued the Magna Carta in 1215 after agreeing peace terms with a band of rebel barons and it is now one of the world’s most celebrated legal documents.
An illustration of King John signing the famous document at Runnymede in 1215
Many people believed King John to be one of the worst kings in history after he imprisoned his former wife, starved opponents to death and murdered his nephew.
He also imposed heavy taxes on his barons for expensive wars and if they refused to pay he punished them.
But the barons demanded he obey by the law and captured London so King John was forced to negotiate.
The two sides met at Runnymede in June 1215 and they wrote the Magna Carta.
It established for the first time that neither monarch nor government was above the law and set out principles of liberty which echoed through the centuries.
The most famous clause, which is still the law today, gave all ‘free men’ the right to justice and a fair trial.
Two other clauses are still in force today – the freedom of the English Church and the ancient liberties of the City of London.
King John died of dysentery in 1216 and nine year old Henry III took to the throne.
Magna Carta was reissued several times during the 13th century, until it was finally made part of English law.
The ancient document has lived on for 800 years, and is used in the United States Declaration of Independence and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Source: British Library
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