Dean warns that values of Magna Carta now under threat

MPs and peers have been warned that the values of Magna Carta may be under threat as the four surviving versions of the famous document went on show in the House of Lords in London.

Baroness Frances D’Souza, Lord Speaker of the House of Lords, makes an address during the opening ceremony for the four surviving original parchment engrossments of the 1215 Magna Carta, at the Houses of Parliament in London.
Image by Matt Dunham/PA Wire

Philip Buckler, the Dean of Lincoln Cathedral, urged vigilance “in the present climate” at a ceremony marking the 800th anniversary of the charter, which laid the foundations for civil liberties and the rule of law.

The manuscripts – two held by the British Library and one each by Lincoln and Salisbury Cathedrals – are on show for just one day in the Palace of Westminster where they will be seen by 200 schoolchildren from around the country.

People including Salisbury Cathedral archivist Emily Naish (left) look at the Salisbury Cathedral 1215 copy of the Magna Carta  displayed  in the Queen’s Robing Room at the Houses of Parliament in London. Image by Matt Dunham/PA Wire

They have been on view together at the British Library in London since the start of the week.

It is part of a programme of events commemorating the sealing of Magna Carta at Runnymede on June 15 1215 as well as the 750th anniversary of the De Montfort parliament which brought together for the first time representatives of the shires and towns of England.

Commons Speaker John Bercow told an audience of politicians and dignitaries that the display was a “truly extraordinary opportunity” for people to “see at first hand the very documents which, although the product of a crisis of governance, came to represent the principles of the rule of law and consent to taxation, and to make the crown and its servants subject to the laws of the land”.

“Parliament time and again has taken its inspiration from Magna Carta,” he added.

The Dean of Lincoln said: “The power of Magna Carta to evoke such a response is extraordinary, and one of the reasons why it is so good to display these four remaining exemplars together for the very first time.

“In this 800th anniversary year it is good to be reminded of all that has stemmed from this 13th century agreement to produce the values that we espouse today.

“Many of these values may be under threat in the present climate.”

The Dean of Salisbury Cathedral, June Osborne, pointed out that its version had never travelled outside of Wiltshire before this year.

The Lord Speaker, Baroness D’Souza, said that, although only four of the 63 clauses were still on the statute books, Magna Carta still embodied key principles such as the right to trial by jury.

“Magna Carta established the principle of the rule of law and equality before the law. For 800 years we have been influenced by its contents and it remains one of the most important political documents,” she added.

(Press Association)