Martyn’s Law, named after Martyn Hett, one of the victims killed in the extremist attack of the Manchester arena in 2017, consists of five requirements from venues and public spaces: 

• Engage with freely available counter-terrorism advice and training; 
• Conduct vulnerability assessments of their operating places and spaces; 
• Mitigate the risks created by the vulnerabilities; 
• Put in place a counter-terrorism plan; 
• A requirement for local authorities to plan for the threat of terrorism  

Understandably due to the COVID-19 health crisis, legislation related to public spaces and venues has not been a chief priority for many. However with a path out of lockdown mapped out and a growing appetite to return to public spaces, as well as the ever present need to mitigate risk of all types of venues, Martyn’s Law is again in the news. 

The legislation has begun to move through Parliament and is expected to end on 6 July. The government is setting out its proposals on the ‘new Protect Duty’; which will provide a legal requirement for publicly accessible locations to ensure preparedness for and protection from terrorist attacks.  

WHAT DOES MARTYN’S LAW CHANGE? 

It has been proposed venues use ‘Guide-Shelter-Communicate’: 

• Guide – Direct people towards the most appropriate location (invacuation, evacuation, hide) 
• Shelter – Understand how your place or space might be able to lock-down and shelter people within it for several hours 
• Communicate – Have a means of communicating effectively and promptly with users of your place or space and have staff capable of giving clear instructions. Also have the capability of integrating with any response or rescue operation by providing things like building plans  

PREPARE NOW 

If you’re an organisation, venue or corporation thinking about the post-Covid risks to your public spaces, and want to stay ahead of legislation, Wilson James can work with you to: 

• Assess your post-Covid readiness  
• Understand the actions you need to take to ensure you are compliant 
• Create or review your counter terrorism plan  
• Build resilience on your site with a crises response strategy 
• Equip your staff with the confidence and skills they need to respond to an attack, through bespoke training 

GET IN TOUCH 

For an initial, no-obligation consultation, please contact Wilson James’ Principal Consultants Leonie Brumby and Simon Glynn at Advisoryservices@wilsonjames.co.uk.