Man convicted of trying to steal Magna Carta from Salisbury Cathedral

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/jan/30/man-convicted-of-trying-to-steal-magna-carta-from-salisbury-cathedral
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A man has been found guilty of attempting to steal a priceless version of Magna Carta, which he told police could be a fake.

Mark Royden, 47, from Canterbury, Kent, was convicted of using a hammer to smash the security case holding the 805-year-old document at Salisbury Cathedral on 25 October 2018.

He was convicted at Salisbury crown court of attempted theft of the charter and criminal damage to the display case, which cost £14,466 to repair.

The trial previously heard that Royden scoped the cathedral for a route not overlooked by CCTV cameras and came equipped with a hammer, gloves and safety goggles.

Before smashing the security case in Chapter House, Royden turned a CCTV camera in a failed attempt to avoid being recorded by it and set off a fire alarm as a distraction, the court heard.

Rob Welling, prosecuting, said Royden made an “odd prepared statement” to police during which he “doubted the authenticity” of the Magna Carta version.

His comments included: “You can’t talk to me about the holy grail, so to speak. If you find a bag on the floor which says cocaine on it, you would have to test that bag forensically. As for your holy grail, you would need a carbon test and a trace element test.”

The court was told that Royden has 23 previous convictions covering 51 offences, including theft and criminal damage.

The defendant, who suffered brain damage in a car accident in 1991, is subject to a court of protection order regarding his finances and is supported by a carer.

Salisbury Cathedral’s version of Magna Carta is one of four that remain in existence from the original 1215 charter.

King John issued Magna Carta after agreeing peace terms with a band of rebel barons, and it is now one of the world’s most celebrated legal documents. It established for the first time that neither monarch nor government was above the law and set out principles of liberty.

The Salisbury copy went back on display three months after the incident, and the damaged case was made part of the exhibition telling the document’s history.