On 12 September 2024 Yvette Cooper, the current Home Secretary representing the Labour Government brought forward a Government Bill entitled the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill. It is a piece of draft legislation known colloquially as ‘Martyn’s Law’ after Martyn Hett, whose life, along with twenty-one other people, was cut tragically short when he was caught up in the Manchester Arena terrorist incident during the Ariana Grande concert seven years ago in 2017.
During the Parliamentary sitting the Bill was formally read and the hearing occurred without the Bill being debated. The Government announced that the new Bill would seek to place legal obligations on owners of ‘certain premises or events to take steps to reduce the vulnerability of the premises or event to acts of terrorism’. The Bill also seeks to ‘oblige those proprietors who control these premises or events to lower the risk of physical harm to individuals arising from acts of terrorism’.
What change is needed?
The Bill does not stop there and goes further and if it eventually enters the UK statute book it would place legal obligations on the Security Industry Authority, known by its abbreviated form the S.I.A..The regulator will have the authority to inspect and impose financial sanctions of up to ten-thousand pounds for violations of the standard tier (venue capacity 100-800 people) and eighteen million or five per cent of an individual’s global revenue for breaches of the enhanced tier (a venue with capacity over 800 people).
The draft legislation seeks to make it harder for people aiming to either carry out an attack, or prepare the ground for a terrorist atrocity to be carried out, making the planning more difficult by reducing the amount of information available in the public domain about licenced premises.
To be effective the cost of establishing and maintaining Martyn’s Law is an estimated three billion pounds.
Is the process plain sailing?
This new draft legislation has not been without its detractors who have taken the view that the draft Bill is ill-unprepared for the robust criticism of the Parliamentary process. There are also worries about the amount of money affected businesses in the entertainment industry will be required to spend. LIVE (Live music Industry Venues & Entertainment) believe that there may be more affordable alternatives which may have the same impact such as utilising the current licensing model and an extremism-combatting mechanism.
Was it really sprung on us?
This legislation cannot be seen as a surprise to anyone following the story and formed part of the previous Conservative Government’s legislative agenda. In Christmas week of December 2022, the UK Government announced that legal requirements would be brought to more robustly mitigate against the risk of terror-related incidents in public places. On 19 December 2022, the Conservative government promised that the new rules would oblige ‘venues and local authorities to compile a strategy to mitigate against the risk posed by terror-related incidents’. It promised that the legislation would be brought forward in the early spring months of 2023.
The then Home Secretary, Suella Braverman, over eighteen months ago in March 2023, promised that a draft Bill would be published by the Government seeking to govern this important area. At the time it was hailed as a piece of legislation which, if it came into force, would place strict legal obligations on all commercial premises holding events to compile a strategy to mitigate against the likelihood of terrorist incidents taking place and protect the public. When the new legislation was announced to the wider public by the Conservative Government, Suella Braverman, took a characteristically tough stance by expressing her support for the new legislation saying, ‘The new duty will require venues to take steps to improve public safety, with measures dependent on the size of the venue and the activity taking place. Recent attacks demonstrate that terrorists may choose to target a broad range of locations. Martyn’s law will ensure that security preparedness is delivered consistently across the UK, ensuring better protection of the public’.
A public consultation to garner support for the bill
To garner public support for its legislative stance the previous Government opened a public consultation process which included listening to the views of those who were fortunate enough to survive the atrocity at the Ariana Grande concert in 2017, those with special knowledge of security-related issues, local councils, charities and industries. A survey during the UK Government consultation process found that only thirty percent of the respondents disagreed that proprietors of venues that members of the public could potentially frequent should put in place mechanisms to mitigate against the risk of terror related incidents such as the one which took place at the Manchester Arena seven years ago.
Back in 2022, it was reported that Martyn’s Law would be structured in a ‘tiered model’ which was to be closely connected to ‘activity which occurs at a place and its capacity to stop’ what it termed as ‘undue burden on businesses’. The Conservative Government at the time seemed to envisage that the tiered system would include firstly a ‘standard tier’ which would apply to places holding a capacity of over 100 people. There was then the proposed idea for a ‘second enhanced tier’ applicable to locations capable of holding 800 or more people. This second tier was reportedly being introduced because the Conservative Government had identified the possible negative impact of a terrorist atrocity.
The Bill received some criticism
In July 2023 the previous incarnation of Martyn’s Law received a hefty backlash from the Parliamentary Home Affairs Select Committee which expressed the view that the Bill was in a ‘sub-optimal state’ as it had been ‘rushed through pre-legislative scrutiny’ and ‘lacked any thorough impact assessment’. The Committee were also worried because the Bill did not contain any thought about the current licensing scheme in mitigating the likelihood of terrorism and safeguarding the public. The previous form of the Bill contained sanctions in the form of ‘financial penalties and restriction notices’. The CEO of Live, the governing body for the music industry was concerned because the potential sanctions were disproportionate, unnecessary, and ‘posed an existential risk for smaller firms because there was a potential for events and festivals leaving the UK’.
Tireless campaign from Martyn’s mother
Martyn’s mother Figen Murray played a pivotal role in tirelessly campaigning for the proposed reforms. When the idea for the new law was put forward in 2022 she welcomed the proposed legislation. She took a hopeful yet realistic tone when she recognised that ‘Martyn’s Law isn’t going to stop terrorism, but common-sense security and making sure venues are doing all they can to keep people safe could mean fewer suffer what myself and the families of Manchester have had to endure. ‘I welcome the government’s commitment to including smaller venues and working quickly on this legislation. It is vital we now take the necessary steps to protect ourselves and others wherever possible and I hope other countries learn from this groundbreaking legislation.’.
In 2022 the then Prime Minister promised faithfully to get the law onto the UK statute book and was ‘committed’ to closely collaborating with Martyn’s mother ‘to improve security measures at public venues and spaces, and to delivering this vital legislation to honour Martyn’s memory and all of those affected by terrorism’.
However in 2023 the Home Affairs Select Committee criticised the bill as being impractical.
Martyn’s mum stood by her campaign saying, ‘Having lost my son to terrorism, along with so many others in the Manchester Arena attack, I find it hard to understand the argument that a few hours of training each year is a disproportionate step for businesses to take. Martyn’s law is a proportionate response that will keep millions of us safer and the Government must now press ahead.’
On 5 February 2024 the Conservative Government launched a consultation process on amended proposals for laws to make sure we are better prepared for, and protected from, terrorist attacks and its idea of increasing the standard-tier from 100 to 200 up to 799. The ‘enhanced-tier’ will apply to venues with a capacity of 800 or more. The consultation exercise closed in March 2024 and on 22 May 2024, Figen Murray walked a colossal 200 miles from Manchester to the Parliament in London to continue fighting for the new legislation.
What happened next?
Ironically, on the same day Figan Murray completed her incredible feat of walking from Manchester to Parliament in London Rishi Sunak announced that there was going to be a General Election in July. In the wash-up at the end of the Parliament Martyn’s law sadly failed to get onto the UK statute book. However, it has now been resurrected and it will be interesting to see how the legislation develops. The Second Reading of the Government Bill is due to take place in the House of Commons on 14 October 2024.
