Man Tried To Steal Magna Carta, 800-Year-Old Symbol Of The Law, Police Say

British police say a man tried to steal the Salisbury Cathedral’s Magna Carta, one of four original documents that have survived. Here, a schoolboy looks at the Magna Carta in the cathedral’s Chapter House

Kieran Doherty / Reuters

Police in Salisbury, England, have arrested a man who, they say, tried to steal the Magna Carta — the 1215 document that established basic tenets of the rule of law. “The Magna Carta has not been damaged and nobody was injured in the incident,” Wiltshire Police said.

The police say the man set off alarms at the Salisbury Cathedral when he tried to shatter the glass shield that protects the Magna Carta. The document was not damaged, police say.

“Only four copies of Magna Carta dating from 1215 have survived the ravages of time and Salisbury Cathedral is proud to be home to the best preserved original manuscript,” the cathedral says.