The Riot Act is an 18th century Act of Parliament designed to enable authorities to deal with potential riots and Jacobite rebels in the most haphazard manner possible. Short of calling in the Marx Brothers to run riot control, or just simply doing nothing, there is little more ineffectual than this Act.
So how did it become a turn of phrase to “read the Riot Act”? Zoë explains in today’s video.
Zoë’s second channel is www.youtube.com/zjkr
Read more from Zoë at www.zoerobinson.com or contact her on www.twitter.com/zoejrobinson
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