New Government Commits to Introducing Martyn’s Law

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17 July 2024

As the new parliamentary year begins, the King’s Speech outlines details of the new government’s plans – including the much-anticipated introduction of Martyn’s Law. 

Prime Minister Keir Starmer has committed to introducing The Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill, otherwise known as Martyn’s Law. Despite reassurances from multiple Prime Ministers and Secretaries of State over the last five years, the bill has still not been introduced to parliament. In May, Martyn Hett’s mother Figen Murray led a 186-mile walk from Manchester Arena to Downing Street to campaign for this process to be sped up.

Martyn’s Law is the result of an inquiry into the Manchester Arena bombing in 2017, where 22 people were killed, including 29-year-old Martyn Hett. The bill proposes stricter safety measures for venues to mitigate the risk to the public from a terror attack. Those proposed measures include mandatory terrorism protection training, risk assessment and mitigation, and maintaining security plans. The requirements will be tiered according to the capacity of the venue: sites with a capacity between 100-799 people will be subject to standard tier requirements, and those with a capacity of 800+ will be placed in the enhanced tier. 

Jason Towse, Managing Director, Business Services, Mitie, commented on the news: “We are pleased to see the tireless campaigning of Figen Murray pay off with the news that Martyn’s Law will be introduced to keep us all safer in public venues. Following a series of delays, we urge the government to act quickly and make it a reality as soon as possible, as well as extending the Law to cover un-ticketed outdoor events, which are not currently included in the bill. This is key to preventing the current legislative blind spot that could have a catastrophic impact if not rectified.”

“However, making this a success doesn’t just sit with the government. We must ensure that venues of all sizes offer the highest quality of training and make it easily accessible to their colleagues. Every day, skilled security officers protect our public spaces, from iconic landmarks to everyday destinations. Martyn’s Law presents an opportunity for our industry to offer the training in key skills that we need to build a pipeline of counter-terrorism and public safety expertise for the UK.”

Picture: a photograph of the exterior of the Houses of Parliament. Image Credit: Unsplash

Article written by Ella Tansley | Published 17 July 2024

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