UK venues and organisers urged to back Martyn’s Law

On 22 May 2017, Figen Murray’s son Martyn Hett went to a concert and never came home. Martyn was one of the 22 lives lost in the Manchester Arena bombing in the UK. Now Murray is striving to create a lasting legacy for her son, a legacy of improved and permanent public safety through Martyn’s Law. Murray is calling on venue operators and event organisers to establish a common standard of counter-terrorism precautions across venues and events. Venues and organisers have a duty of care to their visitors and delegates and currently, counter terrorism measures across venues as well as training for venue and organiser staff in the UK is inconsistent. Martyn’s Law now has the support of the Mayor of Manchester, the Prime Minister and the Home Secretary. Venue operators and event organisers are also invited to attend industry tradeshow International Confex at 2.00pm on 26 February at ExCel London to hear from Murray direct why the fundamental counter terror security measures outlined in Martyn’s Law have to become mandatory rather than discretionary, for the protection of us all.   What is Martyn’s Law? Martyn’s Law is a proposed piece of legislation that seeks to create a coherent and proportionate approach to protective security. It should apply to any place or space to which the public have access. It consists of five requirements: 1) A requirement that spaces and places to which the public have access engage with freely available counter-terrorism advice and training. 2) A requirement for those places to conduct vulnerability assessments of their operating places and spaces. 3) A requirement for those places to mitigate the risks created by the vulnerabilities. 4) A requirement for those places to have a counter-terrorism plan. 5) A requirement for local authorities to plan for the threat of terrorism.   Click here to register for international Confex 2020, 25-26 February.