Video – Reactions as Magna Carta used to try and get around Covid restrictions

England’s second lockdown will cause GDP to drop sharply in November but it is expected to be “less economically damaging than the first one”, according to experts.

Andrew Goodwin, chief UK economist at Oxford Economics, said he expects GDP to dive by 10% month-on-month in November as a result of the restrictions announced by the Prime Minister over the weekend.

He said the “less restrictive” measures, which allow the education sector to remain open, will result in a slightly shallower downturn.

Regardless businesses are rightly worried if they can make it through another lockdown. Some people have gone back hundreds of years to try and reject the new lockdown restrictions.

Magna Carta

A video emerged on Monday showing the owner of a soft play area in Liverpool attempting to use Magna Carta to explain to police why his business was still open

Liverpool is currently under Tier 3 COVID-19 regulations and as such soft play areas should be closed.

Gary Brannan Tweeted: “We’ve reached the point where a Freeman of the Land is trying to keep a soft play centre open using Magna Carta as a justification.”

We’ve reached the point where a Freeman of the Land is trying to keep a soft play centre open using Magna Carta as a justification https://t.co/fKAJItOKyk

— Gary Brannan (@garybrannan) November 2, 2020

As you can imagine quite a lot of people were not having this as an excuse to keep a soft play centre open.

1.

Greg Jenner Tweeted: “For anyone who needs to see this, no, Magna Carta does but empower businesses to resist lockdown closure.”

For anyone who needs to see this, no, Magna Carta does but empower businesses to resist lockdown closure.

— Greg Jenner (@greg_jenner) November 2, 2020

2.

He followed up with this…

5 years ago we made a Horrible Histories special about #MagnaCarta. It won an Emmy award, which was nice. And here’s me explaining what Magna Carta is and isn’t, if you’re interested in its legacy over 800 years https://t.co/5lSTmtmqvQ

— Greg Jenner (@greg_jenner) November 2, 2020

3.

And this…

Oh, here’s our Horrible Histories song about #MagnaCarta’s 800 year legacy. Show it to your kids, yeah? https://t.co/e9u0lCpspQ

— Greg Jenner (@greg_jenner) November 2, 2020

4.

Rupert Beloff Tweeted: “Article 61 of the Magna Carta appeared in the 1215 version but had been removed by the time it was reissued in 1216. It did not exist by the time Magna Carta was made statute in 1297. It’s relevance to a soft play centre in 2020 is, shall we say, unclear!”

Article 61 of the Magna Carta appeared in the 1215 version but had been removed by the time it was reissued in 1216. It did not exist by the time Magna Carta was made statute in 1297. It’s relevance to a soft play centre in 2020 is, shall we say, unclear! https://t.co/S75pWwlr73

— Rupert Beloff (@rjabox) November 2, 2020

5.

One user joked: “Soft play areas can remain open during pandemics, seems a weird addition to the magna carta Barry, but ok, I’ll sign”

https://twitter.com/ReturnOfBill/status/1323253347537854465

6.

https://twitter.com/gavinjohnadams/status/1323259609889574912

7.

We've entered the world of the surreal when anti-lockdown nut jobs start tweeting about Article 61 of the Magna Carta. A small but relevant point, Article 61 refers to certain rights granted by the king to twenty-five barons and was swiftly annulled by Pope Innocent III.

— trevorw1953 (@trevorw1953) November 2, 2020

8.

I’m fine with lockdown deniers invoking Magna Carta as long as they can explain the difference between novel disseisin and darrein presentment, remove their fish-weirs, and send twelve knights to investigate the evil customs of the forest. https://t.co/hOj9zbpxJV

— Alex von Tunzelmann (@alexvtunzelmann) November 2, 2020

Related: 13 Best reactions as #WeWillNotComply trends on Twitter over lockdown restrictions