Two octogenarians attack the Magna Carta of the British Library to warn about global warming

Two octogenarians from the environmentalist group Just Stop Oil damaged the window protecting a copy of the Magna Carta on Friday. Considered a founding text of modern democracy, this text is exhibited at the British Library in London. A video broadcast by the group, accustomed to spectacular actions, shows the two ladies attacking the thick glass by hitting a chisel with a hammer.

The British Library holds two of the four surviving copies of the Magna Carta, a 1215 text establishing that the king and his government are not above the law.

“This famous document deals with the rule of law, and opposition to the abuse of power. Our government is breaking its own laws,” says Judy Bruce, 85. “I am a Christian and I am forced to do everything I can to alleviate the terrible suffering that is happening and is already here,” continues the Reverend Sue Parfitt, 82 years old.

According to Just Stop Oil, which is campaigning for the government to establish a plan to end the use of fossil fuels by 2030, the two octogenarians then stuck their hands together. Quoted in a press release, Judy Bruce declared that “400 renowned scientists, contributors to the IPCC reports, say that we are “deplorably unprepared” for what is coming: 2.5°C or more of warming compared to pre-industrial levels”. She was referring to a recent Guardian poll which found that almost 80% of responding scientists expect such warming, which exceeds the Paris agreement target.

The British Library announced without further details on social networks the closure of the “treasure gallery” where the Magna Carta is exhibited. This charter was signed on June 15, 1215 by the King of England John Lackland under pressure from rebel barons keen to limit royal arbitrariness. It inspired numerous legal texts including the Petition for Rights of 1628, the Constitution of the United States of 1787 and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948.