What we all need to know about Martyn’s Law

In 2017, 22 people lost their lives in the Manchester Arena bombing. Thanks to one victim’s mother, a new law will address the security failings that allowed it to happen.

What happened that night

Figen Murray, mother of Martyn Hett, a 22-year-old victim of the Manchester Arena terror attack, has spent the past seven years campaigning to make public venues better protected. To understand why, and why this impacts on all of us, we need to go back to Monday 22nd May 2017.
There was an Arianna Grande concert at the Arena that night. A global pop icon with a huge following, her show was attended by around 14,000 people – mostly children and teenagers with their families. About an hour before the end of the concert, a 23-year old man, Salman Abedi, walked into the City Room foyer of the Manchester Arena - one of four audience entrances. He was carrying a large backpack. Abedi stayed in the foyer, sometimes hiding, sometimes in full view, until the concert ended.

Shortly before 22:30, the concert drew to a close and people started to leave, many through the City Room. There were people waiting close to the exit who were friends and family of the concert-goers. They included parents waiting to collect their children. At 22:30 hours Salman Abedi detonated a home-made bomb containing nearly 2,000 metal nuts. It had a devastating impact. That night 23 people died, including the bomber, and hundreds were hurt, some with life-changing injuries and many more suffering mental and emotional trauma.

The terrible truth and why we need Martyn’s Law
The tragedy is that the Manchester Arena bomber could have been stopped. There are many stories of heroism and professionalism after the bomb went off, but the failings before the event were fatal.

The public enquiry, set up by the then Home Secretary in 2019, issued a wide-ranging report on the Manchester Arena bombing, identifying the key lessons from that night. Damningly, the report concludes:

“The security arrangements for the Manchester Arena … should have prevented or minimised the devastating impact of the Attack. They failed to do so. There were a number of missed opportunities, leading to this failure.”

Let’s look at some of the missed opportunities.

Firstly, in the days before the attack, Salman Abedi undertook what is known in security circles as a ‘hostile reconnaissance’ of Manchester Arena. Here, he identified a ‘blind spot’ where he could hide from CCTV on the night of the attack. Better-placed CCTV or regular security patrols of blind spots would have found him.

Another failure - one of the security guards on duty that night in the City Room thought Abedi looked suspicious but did not act on his suspicions.

Then, fifteen minutes before the bomb went off, a member of the public was concerned by the figure of Abedi with his large backpack, looking as though he was ‘hiding’ - and challenged him. He then reported Abedi to a security guard. There was still time to take decisive action at that point to stop the bombing – but none was taken.

A combination of uncertainty, poor communication with other security staff and a concern about perceived racism allowed the bomber to finish what he’d started and detonate the devastating explosion.

It was this evidence that better planning, better training and better security systems could have prevented the attack that killed her son that set Figan Murray on her tireless campaign to bring in legislation designed to minimise the risk of another terror attack at a public event.

The venues that Martyn’s Law affects

Under Martyn’s Law (officially The Terrorism [Protection of Premises] Bill), big venues like the Manchester Arena are classified as Enhanced Tier. That covers qualifying publicly accessible spaces or events with a capacity of 800 plus. Qualifying smaller venues and events that cater for 100 up to 799 people are classified as Standard Tier.

Indoor events

A ‘publicly accessible building’ can either be a venue that’s entered by express permission (by ticket for example), or one that the public can go into without restriction  – as in a hotel.

Open air events

Open air events in parks and outdoor spaces only come under Martyn’s Law if entry is strictly by permission – needing a ticket, membership or invitation. An open-air concert is one example.

Places of worship and education

These will both be classified as Standard Tier premises, even if their capacity is 800 people or over – unless they charge a fee for admission. And they will still have to comply with existing safety and safeguarding rules, which are monitored independently.

Village halls and community centres

Sadly, terrorists have attacked a wide range of venues in recent years and there’s no guarantee your local village hall won’t be a target. Most of these local community centres will come under the Standard Tier category.

The venues Martyn’s Law does NOT apply to

Under the current proposals, the following venues are outside the scope of Martyn’s Law:

• Private dwellings
• Offices
• Premises that come under existing transport security regulation, such as airports and ferry ports.