The Magna Carta set out the values that continue to shape Britain 800 years later. Prime Minister David Cameron explains why we should be proud

THIS month we marked a moment that helped shape Britain – a moment to which Durham has a major link. It is 800 years since Magna Carta was sealed by King John, as his barons sought to assert the rule of law and the rights of individuals. That great charter established the idea that those principles should be written down – and that has helped spread them through our history and throughout the world.

Though it was sealed on the banks of the Thames in Runnymede, Surrey, the great charter has strong links to Durham, which is home to three editions – from 1216, 1225 and 1300. That is why the city is marking the anniversary with various events, from a community opera at the cathedral to a series of free lectures on the subject.

I’m delighted those events are taking place. Why? Because the values Magna Carta sets out have been crucial to our country. When King John sealed the great charter, he accepted that no one was above the law, not even the monarch. The right to a fair trial, the fact that justice could not be sold, denied or delayed, all these flowed from Magna Carta – and they’ve echoed down the ages, through our laws and our lives.

Magna Carta has also been crucial to the rest of the world – long upheld as a blueprint for fundamental rights. Gandhi cited it when bringing rights to the Indian people. Mandela appealed to it when fighting for justice in South Africa. The Americans even based their constitution on it. Today, as some people around the world still struggle to live by the rule of law and to see their governments subject to that law, we see this great charter is as relevant and necessary as it was 800 years ago.

For centuries, the principles Magna Carta set out have been alleviating suffering. But here in Britain, ironically, the place where those ideas were first set out, the good name of ‘human rights’ has sometimes become distorted and devalued – and people have seen them too often being used for the wrong reasons. Labour’s Human Rights Act and a number of perverse decisions by the European Court of Human Rights have helped to cause this problem. That is why we will bring forward proposals for a new British Bill of Rights by the end of the year and scrap the Human Rights Act, so we restore the reputation of those rights.

Magna Carta is a remarkable achievement which has brought liberty, democracy and the rule of law to countless people – something we need to make sure continues to happen. Everyone in Britain should be proud of this great charter.

And the readers of The Northern Echo in Durham should feel extra pride as we mark its anniversary, because of the relevance it has to your city.

n DURHAM’S unique 1216 edition of Magna Carta is the centrepiece of a major exhibition exploring 800 years of revolt and rebellion.

The only surviving copy of the great charter from its 1216 re-issuing in the name of the boy king Henry III, which belongs to Durham Cathedral, is the springboard for the Magna Carta and the Changing Face of Revolt exhibition, which is at Durham University’s Palace Green Library until the end of August.

The display takes visitors on a journey through civil unrest, starting in 1215 and running through to the present day and contemporary protests such as the Arab Spring and the Occupy Movement.

Along the way, it boasts stunning artefacts including swords from the Wars of the Roses; Richard III’s Bosworth crucifix; treasures from the Breckenbrough Hoard; a Book of Common Prayer from the reign of Queen Anne showing the prayer used by monarchs who believed they had divine healing powers; the Articles of Union between England and Scotland; a draft Declaration of Rights; and the Great Reform Act of 1832.

There is plenty of local interest, including on Sunderland-born Leveller John Lilburne; the Weardale Chest, which held documents protecting commoners’ rights in the 17th century; a resolution from a Sunderland meeting made by two Chartists who ended up in Durham Prison; and the Jarrow March.

A second gallery aims to give visitors an immersive experience of life as a “quiet” rebel – living as a Catholic in Protestant England before the Emancipation.

Magna Carta and the Changing Face of Revolt is open daily until Monday, August 31 from 10am to 6pm. Entry is by timed ticket only, costing £7.50 for adults, £6.50 for concessions and children over five and free for under fives. Family and group discounts are available. To book, call 0844-844-0444 or visit ticketmaster.co.uk/magna_carta_2015