The mother of Martyn Hett, one of the 22 victims killed in the Manchester Arena attack, has campaigned for better security at public venues.
The draft law, which will be consulted on in the Spring would require venues throughout the UK to take “proportionate and reasonable measures” to ensure the safety of their visitors.
Responsibility will fall on the owners and operators of public spaces, such as sports arenas and concert settings to put appropriate measures in place. No such law currently exists so security remains the decision of individual operators but under Martyn’s Law failure to comply could jeopardise their licences.
Suggested measures put forward in the proposals are airport style security and bespoke training to teach staff what to do in the event of a terrorist attack. This could include x-ray scanning machines, stricter bag searches and metal detectors. This will not be a one-size fits all approach as measures will have to be tailored to the specific venue.
Figen Murray, the mother of Martyn Hett who was sadly killed in the 2017 Manchester Arena attack has been lobbying for the new law ever since. She has received backing from the Prime Minister according to the security minister Brandon Lewis.
Writing in the Mail on Sunday, Lewis said: “The prime minister, home secretary and I are all 100% behind Figen and are working to improve security measures at public venues and spaces.
“We are working quickly to come up with a solution that will honour Martyn’s memory and all of those affected by terrorism.
He added: “I am pleased that last week Manchester city council announced new licensing rules, but we are committed to going further and making Martyn’s law a reality for all public venues across the UK.”
Furthermore, Figen Murray has spoken to security audiences, such as at the International Security Expo 2019 at Olympia – an event that Shape Services attended last year.
As a key and trusted supplier of services to the X-Ray scanning industry we are keen to follow the progress of this draft law and will be keeping updated with its progress as it is consulted on.