Protestors Attack Magna Carta Display at British Library
Protestors at the British Library today
Two campaigners from British environmental activist group Just Stop Oil today took a hammer to the glass protecting the copy of the Magna Carta in the British Library's Treasures Gallery in London.
The group named them as Reverend Dr Sue Parfitt, aged 82, and Judy Bruce, aged 85. After using a hammer on the case at around 10.40am, they then glued their hands together while demanding an emergency plan to just stop oil by 2030.
A spokesperson for the British Library said: "An incident occurred at the British Library on Friday 10 May where 2 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." The library later released photos showing minor damage to the display case, which its teams were in the process of examining.
The British Library holds two of the four surviving copies of the Magna Carta, the remaining two of which are held at Salisbury and Lincoln and Cathedrals.
A press release issued by Just Stop Oil said that Reverend Dr Sue Parfitt is an active Anglican priest, author, and retired psychotherapist from Bristol, and Judy Bruce, a retired biology teacher from Swansea. Holding a sign reading 'The government is breaking the law', they spoke in a video shot at the site about the UK government's stance on climate laws.
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.”
A Just Stop Oil Spokesperson added: “Democracy has been hijacked by corporations that are destroying our communities for profit. Until leaders act to protect us, Just Stop Oil supporters will continue to take the proportional action necessary to generate political pressure. This summer airports will be declared sites of civil resistance."
