Magna Carta - Radio 4

In a major new documentary series for BBC Radio 4, Melvyn Bragg investigates the history of our most famous legal document: Magna Carta. Over four programmes, he tells the story of the events and people responsible for this landmark of our law and personal rights, and traces its influence over the 800 years since the Great Charter was agreed between King John and his barons in a field at Runnymede.

The first programme looks at the background to the events of 1215 – the evolution of English law from its ancient origins, and the uneasy political situation in medieval England. The second programme tells the story of how the charter was negotiated and examines what it contains and why.

In programme three, Melvyn discovers what happened in the aftermath of Runnymede, why the original Charter remained in force for only a matter of weeks, and how it re-emerged later in the century as the defining constitutional document of English law. The series concludes by examining the surprising legacy of Magna Carta here and abroad, and why other countries still believe this to be the most important statement of rights and liberties ever made.

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At a time of widespread political disillusion, and when constitutional reform is moving up the political agenda, the BBC’s Political Editor Nick Robinson presents a three-part BBC Radio 4 series examining the state of democracy in Britain today. He explores attitudes towards the political decision-making process, conflicting views about where political power really lies, what the public really want from democracy and how our democratic system can tackle the profound challenges it has to face.

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Distinguished lawyer and human rights champion Helena Kennedy QC attempts to design a Magna Carta for today’s globalised world. The original charter sought to control the power of the king. But in a fluid world without borders, power lies not with those who govern nation states, but with nomadic bankers and vast corporations. In this interconnected world, whose power should we rein in? What new charter will protect our rights and freedom?

Helena talks to politicians, academics and philosophers about where power lies and how it might be contained. Are the current international institutions created after the war fit for that purpose? In a world where the locus of power is diffuse and shifting, how do we address forces like climate change that affect us all? Does the ungoverned space that is the internet now need rules and regulation? In this half hour Helena outlines her vision for a modern Magna Carta that would have global reach and protect our rights.

Magna Carta is a seven page document that surprisingly few people have read, given how important it is. Luckily comedian Paul Sinha (The Sinha Test, The Sinha Games, Paul Sinha’s Citizenship Test, Paul Sinha’s History Revision) – has read it, and will explain why what’s in it is brilliant, as well as looking at what’s been taken out that shouldn’t have been, what’s not been taken out that should have been, and what he would like to see added 800 years on.

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BBC Radio 4’s Law In Action has been explaining the legal world to a general audience for over 30 years. Joshua Rozenberg and the team will record their 3 February edition inside the British Library alongside the four surviving original 1215 copies of Magna Carta. The programme will explore precisely how much impact Magna Carta has on our current law – and how much of its legacy is legal myth.

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