Priest and retired teacher in their 80s have been charged with Magna Carta attack after Just Stop Oil protesters smashed the ancient book’s glass

• Rev Sue Parfitt, 82, and Judith Brice, 85, have since been released on bail
• The British Library gallery where the two copies are located has been closed

Two protesting pensioners in their 80s have been charged with criminal damage after the Magna Carta glass at the British Library was attacked.

The Just Stop Oil activist, Reverent Dr. Sue Parfitt, 82, from Bristol, and retired biology teacher Judith Bruce, 85, were arrested on Friday morning, the Metropolitan Police reports.

The couple have since been charged with criminal damage following the incident at the British Library in London.

The protesters, armed with a hammer and a chisel, reportedly attempted to break the tempered glass case surrounding the ancient document.

The two older women then held up a sign that read, “The government is breaking the law.”

According to Sky News, she was also said to have been asked: “Is the government above the law?”

The pensioners then stuck to the display and, according to Just Stop Oil, demanded an emergency plan to prevent the oil phase-out by 2023.

A statement from the British Library said its security team had confirmed that two people had attempted to attack “the tempered glass display case”.

They added: “The library security team intervened to prevent further damage to the case, which was minimal.”

“The police have been notified and the Magna Carta itself remains undamaged.”

The gallery where the historical document issued in June 1215 is displayed is closed until further notice, it said.

The ancient document was the first of its kind to detail fundamental rights, including stating that no one – not even the king and his government – was above the law.

It enshrined in writing a person’s right to a fair trial and restrictions on taxation without representation.

The Magna Carta served as the inspiration for several constitutions in contemporary diplomacy, such as the US Constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The British Library has two of the four surviving copies of Magna Carta in its possession.

The other two examples are in Lincoln Cathedral and Salisbury Cathedral.

The pair were released on bail and are due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on June 20.