Five Curious UK Laws
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Five Curious UK Laws

5 Curious UK Laws
It goes without saying that our UK laws and legislations are firmly in place for the good of us all; they keep us safe and maintain a fair and balanced society which provides a mostly civil and structured environment for our residents.
While these carefully chosen and well-detailed laws are regularly updated to fit with our ever-changing society, there are still some strangely curious laws that may raise a few eyebrows and make the reader wonder what exactly happened to result in the creation of these laws.
Here are our top 5 strange UK laws!

MP’s Are Not Allowed to Wear Armour in Parliament

The 1313 Statute [Coming armed to Parliament]: The Act forbids the wearing of armour by members of Parliament when attending in the House and has never been repealed.

It Is an Offense to Be Intoxicated (Drunk) and in Charge of a Cow in Scotland

The law is part of the (alcohol) Licensing Act of 1872 and actually also includes horses and steam engines. It allegedly carries a penalty fine of up to 1,200 GBP excluding the costs of looking after the cow, horse, etc.

It Is an Offence to Beat or Shake Any Carpet Rug or Mat in Any Street in the Metropolitan Police District

Although you are allowed to shake a doormat before 8am! Strangely, this odd is under the Metropolitan Police Act 1839, section 60 and for other districts; Town Police Clauses Act 1847, section 28.

It is illegal to die in the Houses of Parliament

The reason people are banned from dying in parliament is that it is a Royal palace. Nigel Cawthorne, author of The Strange Laws of Old England, said: “Anyone who dies there is technically entitled to a state funeral. He continued: “If they see you looking a bit sick they carry you out quickly!”

In Scotland, You Must Allow the Use of Your Toilet to Whoever Knocks on Your Door and Requests It

It appears as though this ‘law’ was little more than a tradition, or polite custom. That said, trespassing was once legal in Scotland due to a law that allowed free passage through people’s land, so it’s not too hard to see how this could have spawned from the trespassing rule.
So there we have our top 5 strange UK laws. This is just a small handful of many however, there are plenty more curious laws to be found in the UK, and perhaps we will reveal a few more in a later blog post! Be sure to check back soon for more UK Law and company-related new and content.
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