Alien Act

When captured by Solicitor Grey in Scotland in 1746, the Second Doctor put on a German accent and cited Article Seventeen of the Alien Act, 1930. He declared that, under this act, a citizen of a foreign power cannot be hanged without informing their ambassador first. (TV: The Highlanders)

Behind the scenes

In the real world, the 1705 Alien act was a law passed in England which instructed the population to consider Scots as aliens. This entailed various negative measures that forced the Scottish Parliament to consider full union with England. The two later joined to create the United Kingdom.