Campaign calls for entertainment venues to plan for terror attack

A group representing terrorism survivors will call on the Home Office to require all venues and public spaces – from arenas to pubs – to prepare a dedicated security plan in case of an attack.

Called Martyn’s law, the proposal is named after Martyn Hett, who was killed in the Manchester arena attack two years ago, and is supported by his mother, other terror survivors and former counter-terror police officers.

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But the Home Office has so far resisted the idea, prompting campaigners to go public and lobby the remaining contenders in the Conservative leadership contest for their support.

Figen Murray, Hett’s mother, said that she “never set out to be an activist or stir things up” but, a year after her son was one of 22 killed in the Manchester attack, she felt she had to act after visiting a theatre where no security checks were performed.

“I had wrongly assumed that since the attack in May 2017, venues would have learned their lessons and would have put stringent security checks in place. I was devastated to see that this was not the case,” Murray said.

“It felt as if what happened in Manchester on that fateful night had been forgotten.”

Murray will hold a press conference on Wednesday, where she and other campaigners will appear alongside Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, and a retired counter-terror officer who says he has been arguing for reform for years.

Nick Aldworth, a former chief superintendent with the Metropolitan police, said he and other senior officers wanted the Home Office to legislate on “commonsense” security steps. He added: “Ministers mustn’t delay action on this any further.”

Concerns have been raised by the Home Office that for all venues to have a counter-terror plan would impose extra costs on business, although Survivors Against Terror says that venues already have to comply with fire safety and other regulations.

Insiders from the campaign group say they are confident that the Home Office’s initial reluctance can be overcome. “I think that this has been one of those issues that has been lost in Brexit,” one campaigner said.

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The group argues that large venues, such as the MEN Arena, should be required to have a more detailed plan, while pubs and bars should be allowed to produce something simpler because a one-size-fits-all model won’t work.

The idea is that venues could be held to account over their plan if a location was attacked, and that most of the measures required, such as security staff, CCTV or metal detectors, are already likely to be in place.

A report produced by Aldworth for Survivors Against Terror says that “there are no laws in the UK aimed at providing counter-terrorism protective security”. Councils should be required to produce their own counter-terror plan, Aldworth added.

The debate continues about what lessons can be learned from the spate of terror attacks in 2017. Next week the inquests into the deaths of eight people during the London Bridge attack should conclude. Inquests for those killed in the Manchester attack are due to begin in April 2020.