I was reading the LordsoftheBlog and posted a comment from there onto another chat site – commenting on the rather polite way the Lords reacted when part of the ceiling collapsed in the 1980s.
Another chap over there then asked if it was true that it was illegal for an MP to die in the House of Commons – and after some googling around, it turns out that while not actually illegal – if an MP did die in the Houses of Parliament, it seems that the Royal Family could, in theory, be called to act as a Jury in a Coroners inquest.
Hence, a principle exists that MPs are not declared dead until outside the Houses of Parliament.
Anyhow, in a roundabout way, that research lead me to learn about the Town Police Clauses Act 1847, which is apparently still in force in English law.
One of the offenses within that bill applies to “Every person who flies any kite, or who makes or uses any slide upon ice or snow”
If convicted, you could end up with a jail sentence of up to two weeks!
If you are Welsh or Scottish, then you are safe, but any English or Irish noticed sliding down snow covered hills this week risked arrest, trial and imprisonment.
Beware!
