The discovery of the version of the historical parchment which established the principle of the rule of law, in the files of the history department of Kent County Council, has been described as an important historical find by an expert.

The document was found in the archives kept in Maidstone but belonging to the town of Sandwich.

Speaking from Paris, Professor Nicholas Vincent, of the University of East Anglia, who authenticated the document, said: ‘It is a fantastic discovery which comes in the week that the four other known versions were brought together at the Houses of Parliament.