Salon Owner Tries to Evade Lockdown by Quoting the Magna Carta

A while back, a tweet went viral which claimed that businesses could avoid lockdown restrictions by printing out a section of the Magna Carta and sticking it on their window. Confronted with a 13th century charter, went the argument, police officers and COVID wardens would have no choice but to say “forgive me, my liege!” and scuttle off to harass someone else.

Obviously, this was nonsense, which miffed medieval historians were quick to point out: the Magna Carta was only ever about the rights of a handful of barons, and has no legal application today whatsoever. But it seems like not everyone got the memo.

Sinead Quinn, owner of Quinn Blakely Hairdressers in Bradford, has been hit by a series of fines for disobeying lockdown rules. She was first fined £1,000 towards the beginning of November, for staying open after lockdown introduced. On Saturday, she was hit with a further fine of £4,000 after opening her salon again. But nevertheless she persisted: on Monday and Tuesday she was fined again, £10,000 each time, for choosing to open.

Quinn attempted to cite the Magna Carta in defence of her decision, referencing Clause 61, which gave an elite group of medieval barons the right to protest in the face of unjust government. Unfortunately for her, this has no bearing whatsoever in contemporary English law.

The salon owner has made no secret of her antipathy towards lockdown. On Instagram, she posted a series of videos, citing “common law” and stating her intent to disobey the rules. On Tuesday, following her arrest, she posted a picture of the police car outside her business, writing: “This is what your tax paying money goes toward. Sitting outside my business whilst I’m lawfully earning a living.”

The fines might seem harsh, but they’re taking place in the context of a sharp spike of coronavirus in Bradford. Kirklees, the area in which Quinn’s salon is located, now has the fifth highest rates in the country and, in the last week alone, has seen 25 COVID-related deaths. The council issued a statement imploring people to respect the lockdown rules, while decrying the actions of Quinn’s business as “selfish and irresponsible”.