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Fact/Fiction: Can you use the

SUPPORT US VENDORS LATEST CULTURE OPINION ABOUT US 

Magna Carta to get out of

lockdown?
Old news, truthfully retold. Social media posters seemed convinced
they could get out of lockdown using the 805-year-old royal charter.
Are they right?

Can the Magna Carta be used as an excuse to get out of lockdown (Credit: Miles Cole)

By Liam Geraghty  @LGeraghty23 November 24, 2020

We all want a way out of lockdown. When most of 2020 has consisted of looking
at the same four walls or watching Netflix series that you’d previously disregarded
as ‘too much of a commitment’, any (legal) way out will do.
While last week’s news of a Covid-19 vaccine breakthrough was a welcome one,
it’s not going to do much to alleviate the current restrictions to our liberties.

So, SUPPORT
naturally,US
some looked to anLATEST
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CULTURE instead. We
OPINION are,US
ABOUT of 
course, talking about the Magna Carta.

Numerous social media users have pointed to Article 61 of the Magna Carta as a
way to avoid complying with the lockdown restrictions that were introduced in
England on November 5.

Joey Barton
@Joey7Barton

People having to fight for their existence.

twitter.com/NicciStevens77…
11:36 AM · Nov 2, 2020

435 140 Share this Tweet

Tweet your reply

There was also a viral video of a Merseyside business owner using the defence to
avoid closing during lockdown.

This caught the attention of football manager Joey Barton – no stranger to

controversy – who tweeted about the video with the caption: “People having to
fight for their existence.”

That tweet attracted the attention of The Independent, which ran the story: “Joey
Barton appears to back conspiracy theorist citing the Magna Carta to avoid
coronavirus regulations”.

The Magna Carta defence was also used by a hairdresser in the Oakenshaw area
of Bradford to defy lockdown. Local newspaper the Bradford Telegraph &
Argus covered that story under the headline: “Hair salon in Oakenshaw remains
open in defiance of lockdown – here’s why”.
She has since been fined nearly £30,000 for repeatedly breaking the rules,
claiming the ancient artefact as her excuse.

ButSUPPORT
can the Magna Carta chart aLATEST
US VENDORS path out ofCULTURE
lockdown? OPINION ABOUT US 

FACTS. CHECKED

No. The Magna Carta cannot be used to defy Covid-19 measures.

For starters, not only is article 61 not in use in law today, it didn’t even survive
subsequent versions of the royal charter.

The Magna Carta was first agreed by King John of England in 1215 and originally
consisted of 63 clauses. It caused a stir and was declared null and void by the
Pope, kicking off a civil war.

Subsequent versions were reissued, including in 1225 where it formed the basis
of common law, and was incorporated into English statutory law in 1297.

None of these revised versions contained an article 61. And, in fact, only articles
one, nine, 29, and 37 are still part of law today with large parts of the Magna Carta
repealed by the Statute Law (Repeals) Act 1969.

So we know that article 61 has no legal basis in 2020 – but what did it actually say?

Article 61 applied to 25 barons, not the general public. It gave them the power to
“assail” the monarch. It reads: “Any man who so desires may take an oath to obey
the commands of the twenty-five barons for the achievement of these ends, and
to join with them in assailing us to the utmost of his power.”

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So article 61 doesn’t absolve the general public of having to obey the laws of the
land, it does require them to follow the 25 barons instead. But the article never
made it into law so it is scant defence in the modern day.
SUPPORT US VENDORS LATEST CULTURE OPINION ABOUT US 
As well as a fact check from Full Fact, the Financial Times pointed out that the
defence was invalid in their appropriately headlined “Magna Carta offers no way
to get out of lockdown”.

And as for the Oakenshaw hairdresser, who had placed a note on the door of her
premises stating that she “did not consent” to the lockdown, she was reportedly
fined by police for breaching restrictions, as reported by Yahoo!, the Bradford
Telegraph & Argus and the Yorkshire Evening Post.

Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic there has been no shortage of

misinformation, rumour and fake news on social media. In this case, we can say
that you should absolutely question any legal loopholes that are tied to an 805-
year-old royal charter.

The legal guidelines and advice are changing throughout the pandemic as cases
rise and fall. But, throughout this period of uncertainty, one thing is certain even
in 2020 – the Magna Carta is not making a comeback.

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