THIS year is the 800th anniversary of Magna Carta.

Why is this significant to us in 2015?

With the threat to our liberty and free expression as great today as it’s ever been, the principles laid out in the Great Charter (the translation of the Latin ‘Magna Carta’, and termed great not because of its ambitions but because it was written on a large piece of parchment) are vitally important.

Originally there were 63 clauses in the agreement signed by King John on June 15, 1215, at Runnymede.

Today only three remain on the statute books.

They deal with defending the rights of the church and our liberties and customs.

The most important one, however, gives each and every one of us the right to justice and a fair trial.

The document laid the foundation for democracy and the establishment of Parliament.

It also later influenced the American Bill of Rights, which was drawn up more than 500 years after Magna Carta, in 1791.

The first and fifth amendments of the Bill of Rights, which are central to all US citizens’ rights, have their seeds in Magna Carta.

They relate to free speech and provide a protection against self-incrimination in the judicial process, which is what people mean when they say they are ‘taking the fifth’.

A later copy of the Magna Carta, from 1297, is housed in the National Archives in Washington DC, such is the importance that America’s founding fathers placed on our charter.

Whenever there is an attempt by anyone in this country – be it Government or otherwise – to erode, diminish or remove our civil liberties we must always remember Magna Carta and resist it at all costs.

People talk about restricting the freedom of the press, particularly in light of the appalling behaviour of the News of the World and the phone hacking scandal, but we must be very careful what we wish for.

Our rights and freedoms are long-established and have been hard-won.

This can easily be lost in the white noise of modern society from political correctness, consumerism, ruthless capitalism and religious fanaticism.

Restrict our ability to speak and write freely and openly, and we leave the way open for the abuse of power and surely point society in the direction of a world that Orwell warned us about.

That is why it is so important that people know what Magna Carta is and what it means.

And this 800th anniversary is the perfect way to underline its significance.

So on June 15 this year we should all stop and raise a glass to those figures who secured the signing of the Magna Carta at Runnymede.