RE MY letter of May 5 saying we must do all we can to protect this most sacred of all the great writings to come from our past, this paper correctly headed it “Once it’s gone, it’s gone”.

After it was published I realised I had never even been to Runnymede. So last Friday I rectified that oversight. The place is wonderful, with the Thames running on one side and a small wooded area on the other.

Standing in front of JFK’s plaque and reading the words on it, I realised just how much Magna Carta means to the people of the world, and we gave it to them.

The reason for this letter is to ask our two MPs if they have been there and if not please do so, before you agree to change the Human Rights Act just to pacify a few disgruntled voters who have no idea that those changes will go down through the centuries, and we will all be the losers.

Yes, there are those that abuse our laws and flout our customs, but to change our history and our view of freedom is in fact letting them win the argument; look they will say, you are no better than us.

Well, we are better than them and our centuries of struggle is proof of that.

We do not need to alter our laws and way of life just to send a handful of them packing; give them enough rope and they will hang themselves.

Once they have no right to the protection of the laws of the land, then neither do we.

Can you imagine the following scenario; the Scots vote to leave the union after we vote to leave the EU and the Government of the day says, ‘you Scots will all have to go home under the new laws on Human Rights.

‘This is not your country they will say. Just because you have lived here for most of your life, it does not give you the right to stay.’ It will not happen I hear you say, but you forget we will have no protection of Human Rights, just Cameron’s new laws and the EU Human Rights will not apply to you.

So will our MPs please take a couple of hours out of their parliamentary time and go there?

I came away walking on air after a group of foreigners were looking at one of the plaques and I took ten minutes out of my life to explain all about King John and Parliament.

The English people standing around looked as proud as me and I got thanked by two of them afterwards. Perhaps I am doing what I can to make sure we keep Magna Carta close to our heart.

ROY CARTWRIGHT Covingham, Swindon