Two “Stop the Oil” protesters in their octogenarians smashed the glass around Magna Carta at the British Library.
The Reverend Sue Parfitt, 82, and retired biology teacher Judy Bruce, 85, used hammers and chisels to destroy the protective fencing around the historic document on Friday morning.
According to Just Stop Oil, the pair then held up signs that read “The government is breaking the law” and then glued themselves to the signs.
A statement from the British Library said its security team “intervened to prevent further damage to the case, but the damage was minimal” and that “the Magna Carta itself remains intact.”
It added that the gallery in which the exhibition is being held will be closed until further notice.
Reverend Parfit said: “Magna Carta should rightly be respected and is hugely important to our history, our freedoms and our laws. But if we allow climate change to become the catastrophe it now threatens, there will be no freedoms, no lawfulness and no rights.”
“We need to strike a balance. The abundance of life on Earth, the stability of our climate that allows civilization to continue, are things that need to be respected and protected above all else, even more than our most precious artefacts.”
Mr Bruce said: “This week 400 respected scientists who contributed to the IPCC report said we are 'woefully unprepared' for what is coming: a warming of more than 2.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels.”
“Instead of acting, our dysfunctional government is acting like the three monkeys – 'see nothing, hear nothing, say nothing' – as if we have 25 years, which we don't.”
“We have to get away from our dependence on oil and gas by 2030. We have to start now.”
According to police, two people were arrested on suspicion of criminal damage and are currently in custody.
