Martyn’s Law Explained

On 22 May 2017, hundreds of people were leaving a concert by US singer Ariana Grande at the Manchester Arena. As concert goers began to exit the arena via the foyer, the arena’s busiest exit housing the box office and leading to the car park, and Manchester Victoria Station, a homemade bomb was detonated and exploded. The bomb used was substantial, containing nearly two thousand nuts, and had a devastating impact.

The blast occurred in the foyer between the main arena, and neighbouring Manchester Victoria station as many of the 14,000 concert attendees exited. It tragically killed 22 innocent people, the youngest being just eight years old, and physically injured over 100 more, some of these suffering life-changing injuries. Many others have suffered psychological and emotional trauma, including families of the victims, those involved in the rescue, and those working for the emergency services attending the incident and aftermath. 

The Manchester Arena bombing was the worst atrocity to happen on UK soil since the London 7/7 bombings in 2005, which caused the deaths of 52 people and injured over 770 more. 

A public inquiry into the Manchester Arena bombing was set up by the then Home Secretary in 2019 to investigate the deaths of the victims of the attack on the Arena on 22 May 2017. The Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, also commissioned a review known as the Kerslake Report, of Greater Manchester’s preparedness for and response to the Manchester Arena terrorist attack.

On the 12^th of September 2024, the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill which is also known as Martyn’s Law was introduced to Parliament, and in January this year (2025), it received its second reading in the House of Lords. The Bill has been designed to bolster the UK’s preparedness for, and protection from, terrorism and to build upon the Protect and Prepare strands of the Government’s wider counter-terrorism strategy, CONTEST. In this article we will look at Martyn’s Law in more detail, the protections that it should offer to the public, and discuss the implications that the passing of the Bill into law will have for premises hosting public events.

What is Martyn’s Law?

Currently there is no single piece of legislation that would encompass all of the proposals contained in Martyn’s Law. Existing laws that focus on crime and / or safety include:

• The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act (HASWA) 1974 – regulates and enforces workplace health, safety and welfare within the UK
• The Crime and Disorder Act 1998 – makes provision for preventing crime and disorder
• The Licensing Act 2003 – makes provision about the regulation of the sale and supply of alcohol, the provision of entertainment and the provision of late night refreshments
• Civil Contingencies Act 2004 – establishes a coherent framework for emergency planning and response ranging from local to national level

None of these current Acts however, mandate specifically that public premises and events consider the risk from terrorism, and how they would respond to a terrorist attack at certain premises and events. Martyn’s Law legislation aims to create a coherent and proportionate approach to protective security. It will apply to any place or space to which the public have access and place statutory duties upon those who are responsible for that public premises and events. 

This new “Protect Duty”, for the first time mandated by law, is being introduced to ensure that the type of premises most likely to be targeted by terrorists take proportionate measures to protect the public. Martyn’s Law requires persons responsible for “qualifying premises” or “qualifying events” to take steps to reduce the risk of physical harm to individuals arising from acts of terrorism, and for qualifying events and larger premises to take steps to reduce their vulnerability to acts of terrorism. The provisions in the Bill have been developed following engagement with expert security partners, businesses, local authorities, the Martyn’s Law campaign team, and Survivors Against Terror.

Through Martyn’s Law a “Standard Duty” applies to “qualifying premises” with a capacity of 200 – 799 persons. These premises must put in place “public protection procedures”. An “Enhanced Duty” imposes further requirements on premises with a capacity of 800 plus who must, in addition to the standard duty procedures, put in place “public protection measures”. Whilst “procedures” are reactive to an attack, the “enhanced measures” are proactive and preventative.

Premises are “qualifying premises”, and so subject to the Protect Duty / Martyn’s Law, if they satisfy all of these criteria:

• The premises consist of a building or a combination of a building and land for example a pub and its beer garden, or a hotel with outside grounds used for dining and events. For these purposes a building also includes a part of a building, for example a unit within a shopping centre or a group of buildings, for example a group of buildings that together form a university campus. This criterion does not cover a piece of open land without a building, but activity on this land may well amount to a “qualifying event”, considered further below.
• They are “wholly or mainly” used for one or more Schedule 1 uses (see below for Schedule 1 uses, it includes the sale of food and drink to members of the public for consumption on the premises). The term “wholly” captures premises that are solely used for one or more Schedule 1 activities. The term “mainly” captures premises which have more than one use, and at least one use is a use that is set out in Schedule 1. Whether premises are used mainly for one use or for another will be determined based on the circumstances of each set of premises. The amount of time used for each will be a key factor, and if the premises are used for one or more Schedule 1 uses for a greater amount of time during the year compared to the amount of time that they are used in other ways, then the premises will very likely fall within scope. For example, an exhibition hall hosting both public and private events, will likely be within scope of this criteria where the usage for public events exceeds the duration than that for private events. 
• It is reasonable to expect that from time to time 200 or more individuals may be present on the premises at the same time in connection with the Schedule 1 use or uses.
• The premises are not subject to any of the exemptions that are set out in Schedule 2.

A premises but not an event is one that it is “wholly or mainly” used for one or more Schedule 1 uses can include:

• Retail shops
• Premises for sale of food and drink for consumption on site such as restaurants and bars
• Nightclub, social club or dance hall
• Entertainment venues such as a theatre, cinema, sports, music
• Sports ground, recreation, exercise or leisure centres
• Libraries, museums and galleries
• Exhibition halls and conference centres
• Visitor attractions such as those of historic, touristic or educational value
• Halls, hotels, hostels and holiday parks
• Hospitals / health centres
• Schools, colleges and universities
• Places of worship
• Public authority buildings such as town halls

Premises will be “qualifying premises” only where it is reasonable to expect that they will host 200 or more individuals at the same time (from time to time) in connection with any Schedule 1 activities. The definition of a building includes “part of a building”. There are many buildings which will be used for non-Schedule 1 activities, but which have a part which is used for a Schedule 1 activity. For example, a large factory may have an associated shop for the display and sale of the goods it makes. The factory is a private workplace not in scope. The shop as part of the building may be in scope where it meets the qualifying premises criteria.

All places of worship that can be expected to host 200 or more individuals at the same time will fall within the standard tier of Martyn’s Law, even if that number is 800 or greater. The Government has indicated that it has taken this decision due to the differing nature of places of worship from other premises in scope, in being readily accessible and welcoming to all, with no restrictions on entry, or staff routinely present. For many places of worship there are mitigations in place, including those developed with local police and through Government funding and work programmes to support them in reducing their vulnerability to terrorism and hate crime.

Schedule 2 of Martyn’s Law excludes certain premises from the requirements of the Bill, these include:

• Parliaments and devolved governments
• Parks, gardens, recreation grounds, sports grounds, and other open-air premises used for recreation, exercise or leisure.
• Transport premises such as airports, national rail and underground premises, international rail premises, and port facilities.

Schedule 1 uses do not apply to events. An event is a “qualifying event” if it satisfies all these criteria:

• The premises where the event is to be held consists of a building, including part of a building or a group of buildings, other land such as a field, park, or farmland, or a combination of a building and other land.
• The premises at which the event is to be held are not enhanced duty premises and do not form part of enhanced duty premises, such events are excluded as the premises will already be subject to the enhanced duty requirements.
• Members of the public will have access to all or part of the premises for the purpose of attending the event.
• It is reasonable to expect that at some point during the event 800 or more individuals may be present at the event at the same time*
• The event is not excluded by virtue of a provision of schedule 2 to the bill 
• Individuals will be employed or otherwise engaged to control access to the event. Specifically, this will involve checking tickets or passes whether paid for or free, or taking payment

*Reasonable to expect at some point is an assessment of the number of individuals that are expected to be present at the event. This entails considering the number of individuals expected to attend at the same time at some point over its duration.

Under Martyn’s Law, standard duty premises are also referred to as the standard tier. The standard tier requirements are:

• Notification – The responsible person for standard duty premises will be required to notify the Security Industry Authority (SIA) when they become responsible for those premises. They must also notify the SIA when they cease to be responsible.
• Public protection procedures – The responsible person for standard duty premises will be required to ensure that, so far as is reasonably practicable, appropriate public protection procedures are in place at the premises.

Public protection procedures are procedures of a type set out in the Bill that may be expected to reduce the risk of physical harm to individuals in the event that an act of terrorism occurs at the premises or in the immediate vicinity. They are procedures to be followed by people working at the premises where they suspect an act of terrorism is occurring, or is about to occur, at the premises or in the immediate vicinity. The four types of procedures that must be put in place, as appropriate and reasonably practicable, are: 

• Evacuation – the process of getting people safely out of the premises.
• Invacuation – the process of bringing people safely into, or to safe parts within, the premises.
• Lockdown – the process of securing the premises to ensure that the entry of any attacker is restricted or prevented such as locking doors, closing shutters or using barriers.
• Communication – the process of alerting people on the premises to move them away from any danger.

Enhanced duty premises and events are also referred to as the “enhanced tier”. These duties are in addition to those applicable to standard duty premises. As enhanced duty premises and events will reasonably be expected to host greater numbers of individuals, the impact of a successful attack is likely to be more significant; and so responsible persons will also be required to put in place reasonably practicable public protection measures. 

The four types of measures that must be put in place, as appropriate and reasonably practicable, are:

• Measures in relation to monitoring the premises or event, and their immediate vicinity.
• Measures in relation to controlling the movement of individuals into, out of and within the premises or event.
• Measures in relation to the physical safety and security of the premises or event
• Measures in relation to the security of information that may assist in the planning, preparation, or execution of acts of terrorism.

The delivery of these measures will vary between different types of qualifying premises and events and may be implemented for example through:

• Training
• Processes such as a bag search policy 
• Physical measures such as CCTV

“Reasonably practicable”, in the context of enhanced duty premises, recognises that the particular procedures and measures put in place at one location may not be appropriate and reasonably practicable at another.

Compliance with the enhanced requirements of Martyn’s Law must be documented.

The Security Industry Authority (SIA) has been named as the regulator for Martyn’s Law. The SIA’s role will be to support, advise, and guide those responsible for premises and events in meeting the requirements of this legislation as well as to investigate and enforce compliance of the requirements and will also have available the necessary tools to address instances of persistent or serious non-compliance. The SIA will have powers to issue a range of civil sanctions, and the regime is underpinned by relevant criminal offences and investigatory powers.

The Bill also introduces amendments to the Licensing Act 2003 to ensure that plans for sensitive premises submitted with a new premises licence application, or attached to an existing licence, can be kept off the public register so its disclosure does not assist bad actors in carrying out their criminal acts.

How Martyn’s Law protects people

The requirements of Martyn’s Law aim to ensure that those responsible for standard duty premises are better prepared to respond to a terrorist attack so that people working on the premises can take action that might save lives and reduce harm. By promoting a proactive approach, enhanced duty premises can put measures in place that help to deter terrorists, making it harder for them to carry out attacks undetected.

Martyn’s Law creates a consistent standard of security for all qualifying venues, ensuring that a minimum level of protection is applied across the board, and venue operators are encouraged to work closely with local authorities, law enforcement, and emergency services to ensure coordinated responses in the event of emergencies. This enables the public to have more confidence in attending large events or crowded spaces, knowing that security measures are in place and that staff are trained to deal with incidents and / or threats.

Who was Martyn Hett?

Martyn Hett was a 29-year-old social media manager who was one of the 14,000 people who had attended the Ariana Grande concert at the Manchester Arena on 22^nd May 2017. He was also one of the 22 people killed in the bombing. Martyn had been just four metres away from the terrorist when he detonated his suicide bomb. 

The report into Martyn’s death, and into the deaths of the other victims stated that the emergency services failed to work together following the Manchester Arena bombing and recommended a change in legislation to improve the safety of public venues.

Following the loss of her son and the findings of the reports and inquiries into what had happened at the Manchester Arena on 22^nd May, Martyn’s Mother Figen Murray had expected that public venues would have tightened up their security measures. However, she realised when attending an event herself that this was not the case. She then began a campaign for better security at venues and also completed a master’s degree in counter-terrorism. Her campaigning has led to the development of the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill which is also known as Martyn’s Law, a fitting lasting memory to Martyn Hett.

When did Martyn’s Law come into effect?

The Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill, Martyn’s Law, has cross-party support in both houses of parliament and has, so far, progressed quickly through its initial legislative stages with only minor drafting amendments being made to it. It is currently (January/February 2025) at Committee stage in the House of Lords and should progress through the final stages to be given Royal Ascent and become law, so It seems highly likely that the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill, Martyn’s Law, will become law during 2025. The Martyn’s Law legislation will apply across all of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

However, many organisations, venues and events are already starting to implement their own security measures, including consideration of security risk assessments leading to a range of emergency plans and procedures being put into place.

What does Martyn’s Law mean for organisations?

The aim of Martyn’s Law is not to create an undue burden on people responsible for public places. A venue or event should take ‘appropriate’ and ‘proportionate’ measures to ensure that staff and the public are protected from harm.

Where Martyn’s Law applies to premises or events, the persons responsible for them will be required to take “public protection procedures”, to “reduce the risk of physical harm being caused to individuals if an act of terrorism were to occur on the premises, at the event, or in the immediate vicinity of the premises or event”. Martyn’s Law places responsibility on the person who has control of public premises to ensure security measures are in place, this is usually the operator or occupier. 

The requirements for standard duty premises are focused on simple activities surrounding policies and procedures, which are to be followed by staff in the event of a terrorist attack or suspected terrorist attack occurring. For enhanced duty premises and events requirements are based on reasonably practicable public protection procedures and measures.

Once Martyn’s Law becomes legislation, dedicated guidance and support will be provided for duty holders to ensure that those premises and events in scope have the required information on what to do and how best to do it.

However, venues can start to prepare for Martyn’s Law by starting to think about such things as:

• Who would be the “responsible person(s)” for the premises or event?
• What an anti-terrorism evaluation/risk assessment would look like for the particular premises or event. The Health and Safety risk assessment template is a good place to start, assessing the possible vulnerabilities of the premises or event to various attack methods, and taking suitable measures to mitigate the risks.
• Identifying and providing training for relevant staff and encouraging and enabling a security culture amongst all staff.
• Putting in place procedures so that any concerns can easily be reported and can be acted upon.
• Being security-minded in communications, particularly online about the premises or event.
• Liaising with local authorities, emergency and police services to share information and identify best practice.
• Being alert to suspicious behaviour and activity in and around the premises or event, such as people loitering or displaying an unusual level of interest in asking questions, filming or photographing
• As with fire drills, practicing how staff would respond to an incident occurring inside, outside, or near to the premises or event.

Final Thoughts

The threat of terrorism continues to remain high in the UK, so the introduction of Martyn’s Law is an essential piece of legislation for the safety of the public. Martyn’s Law cannot, and does not intend to prevent terrorist attacks from happening, however, it does ensure that premises and events in the UK are prepared for, and protected against, the impact of potential terrorist attacks.