On the 12th September, 2024, Martyn’s Law (officially referred to as the “Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill”) was officially passed through to Parliament. Created following the tragedy of the Manchester Arena bombings back in 2017, it’s a law borne from devastation that seeks to prevent those same tragedies from occurring.
A landmark move for the legislation, Martyn’s Law seeks to afford licenced premises and public venues with greater, more robust protection against the very real threat of terrorism. It’s a much-needed piece of legislation that’s ultimately designed to keep people safer at venues across the UK’s rich calendar of events.
Since the General Election back in July, this has been a much-discussed change to the events landscape. Regardless of political affiliation, this was always set to provide the support premises and venues need to ensure adequate protection against terror threats, and here at Churchill Support Services, the change has been welcomed with open arms.
Our Chief Executive Officer John Melling lauded the legislation’s arrival as a huge day in our sector:
“Martyn’s Law is absolutely massive for our industry, and in ensuring we ultimately keep guests, visitors and events safe for the foreseeable future. We’ve always sought to provide exemplary service, and this reaffirms the right actions going forward for everyone involved.”
Those sentiments are echoed across the business, and especially so among our Operational structure. It’s a change we’ve already laid substantial groundwork for in our training and induction processes for all event staff, and with this now being passed into law, we’re only likely to see our hard work replicated across the sector.
We’ve also seen exceptional efforts from some of our competitors across the industry, and that’s for the betterment of our sector. While we’re proud of the things that we’re personally doing, we aren’t the only ones to be doing so.
The opinions of our team were more widely reflected, too, and particularly so in Parliament. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper issued a resonant statement through the Home Office website, while conceding that the Law had been “a long time coming”:
“This legislation will strengthen public safety, help protect staff and the public from terrorism and ensure we learn the lessons from the terrible Manchester Arena attack and the inquiry that followed.”
Words like these are understandably strong, and spark discussions about how the law is set to permeate throughout the events sector, especially at larger scale venues like the Manchester Arena, or London’s O2 Arena which itself saw terror threats in recent years.
Those discussions are, in our opinion, extremely valuable, both in keeping the general public safe as they attend events and the surrounding areas, and in progressing the wider security industry. It’s an opinion shared by Matt Juke, the Head of Counter Terrorism Policing.
Speaking alongside Home Secretary Yvette Cooper earlier today, he welcomed the new bill with open arms, while remaining stoic in his duty to protecting the general public.
“We will continue to work with the public, with businesses, and with the government to ensure that when a terrorist attack takes place we have the right mitigations in place that will prevent other families from experiencing those tragedies.”
It’s that tragedy that truly spurred on the change, though, and we’d be remiss if we weren’t to mention the catalyst behind this monumental change. Figen Murray, mother of Martyn Hett (for whom the law is named), has spearheaded the change for over 5 years, and this new legislation is the culmination of her relentless efforts.
Her selflessness in driving this law forward to its culmination in Parliament is admirable, to say the least. The BBC spoke to her in a recent interview, and her altruism truly shone through:
“We are one step closer to making public spaces safer for everyone.”
It comes at a time when we creep ever closer to the anniversary of those tragic events of 22nd May 2017, and Figen herself referred to the fast action of both the Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and the relevant authorities as “a relief”. In discussion with the House of Commons, she went on to say:
“Today means we are one step closer to making public spaces safer for everyone. It is also hugely important for my family that Martyn’s Law will be on the statute book ahead of the next anniversary of Martyn’s death.”
At Churchill, we’ve long been advocates of Ms. Murray’s tireless pursuit of more stringent security measures, and especially so in her dauntless efforts in getting Martyn’s Law to its current stage. We’ll continue to offer unwavering support as the bill goes through the Royal Assent process, and becomes officially written into law.
