What is Martyn’s Law?
Martyn’s Law is the UK’s new counter-terrorism legislation designed to improve public safety in venues and events. Officially called the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025, the law was inspired by the tragic 2017 Manchester Arena bombing and the tireless efforts of Figen Murray, mother of victim Martyn Hett.
Why has Martyn’s Law been introduced?
The eighth anniversary of the Manchester Arena bombing passed in May 2025; a truly dreadful tragedy, the Inquiry into which occupied much of my working life for almost five years.
The Inquiry led by Sir John Saunders concluded in June 2023 but Figen Murray’s remarkable campaign in her son Martyn’s name for a change in the law went on.
She was determined to ensure better preparedness of venues to respond to similar attacks and better protect the public. As mentioned above, this campaign has culminated in the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025 – Martyn’s Law.
What does Martyn’s Law apply to?
The Act covers public locations, such as stadiums, shopping centres, colleges and visitor attractions, its’ aim is to ensure consistency in public protection and to mitigate harm caused by terrorism. It establishes a tiered approach, linked to the number of individuals present at certain venues and qualifying events:
- Standard Tier – for premises/events with a capacity between 200 to 799 individuals.
- Enhanced Tier – premises and events where at least 800 individuals will be present.
Relevant public locations must assess how many people they might expect to be present at the same time within premises or at events. The assessment will determine whether the event or premises falls within scope of the legislation; and what tier it will be.
Several methods of assessment can be used, examples include numbers for safe occupancy for fire safety purposes, historic attendance data, and ticket sales.
What does Martyn’s Law require your business to do? What’s in scope?
For in-scope premises, the person in control of the premises will be responsible for implementing sufficient safeguards in compliance with the Act. For qualifying events, the “responsible person” will depend on who has control of the premises at the time of the event.
Who is responsible person for qualifying premises and events?
The responsible person will be required to have in place, so far as reasonably practicable, “appropriate public protection procedures”. All premises and events covered by the Act will also have reporting obligations to the Security Industry Authority (SIA).
How is Martyn’s Law enforced?
Under the standard duty, there is no requirement to put in place physical measures, but the enhanced tier provides for stricter public protection procedures because of the increased impact of any potential terror attack.
The public protection procedures must be implemented and followed by everyone working at the premises if a terrorism act were to occur at/or in the immediate vicinity of the premises.
Duty holders will need to consider what reasonably practicable procedures and measures need to be in place to reflect the individual circumstances of their premises or event, and their reporting obligations to the SIA.
In preparation for the new legislation, premises/events holders will need to:
- Understand if they may fall into the scope of the new Act
- Look at what current safeguards and procedures are in place to protect the public
- Consider who will be responsible for ensuring compliance with the Act
- Assess what training may be needed
The government plans a new regulatory function within the SIA. Where there are instances of serious or persistent non-compliance, the SIA will have investigatory and enforcement powers, including civil sanctions for non-compliance and commencing criminal proceedings. Penalties for non-compliance for standard premises will be up to £10,000, and for enhanced premises, up to £18 million or 5% of global turnover.
Government guidance on compliance is not yet available, but all duty holders will need to start thinking about how they will go about complying with the Act. As ever with compliance, risk assessment is king and current risk assessments and training will need careful review. If you need any help with this, you know where to come!
Final thoughts on Martyn’s Law
Martyn’s Law marks a major shift in the UK’s approach to public safety and terrorism preparedness. It brings a legal duty to protect people in public spaces, and with it, accountability.
Don’t wait for official enforcement to begin. Start planning now.
If you need help with creating and carrying out risk assessments to support compliance with Martyn’s Law, our risk assessment software can help.