A mother's gruelling journey from Manchester to Downing Street in her tragic son's name

The campaigning mother of Martyn Hett - one of 22 innocents murdered in the Manchester Arena bombing of 2017 - is walking from the venue to Downing Street to demand action over proposed new anti-terror legislation in her son's name.

Figen Murray, 62, said the country was 'being put at risk' by delays to Martyn's Law, which would require venues and local authorities in the UK to have preventative plans to mitigate against terror attacks. A Bill, however, has yet to get beyond draft stage.

On May 7, Figen will walk from the site where Martyn lost his life to Downing Street, arriving on May 22 – the seventh anniversary of his death and the attack.

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She will be joined on the walk by her husband and other family members, as well as survivors of other terror attacks, as she pays her respects at other sites of terror attacks along the way.

Figen said her world “completely changed” when her son was killed in the attack.

“No parent should have to experience the pain and loss I’ve felt and I truly believe we have an opportunity to make public spaces safer and more secure by introducing Martyn’s Law,” she said.

“The Prime Minister and senior government ministers have reassured me that they are committed to introducing this game-changing legislation, but almost five years on from their first commitment, the draft legislation still hasn’t been tabled. This is putting our country at risk.

“This year marks the seventh anniversary of the Manchester Arena attack and rather than spending time at home with my family celebrating Martyn’s life, I’ll be walking from the Manchester Arena to 10 Downing Street to hand-deliver a letter to the Prime Minister.”

Last year, a draft of the new law was criticised by the Commons Home Affairs Committee.

The committee warned that the draft Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill would put small businesses and organisations at risk of closure and fail to “make a significant impact” on preventing attacks.

MPs found the draft Bill, which has different standards based on venue capacity, would require a local village hall to have certain safety precautions, while an outdoor market in a city centre would not.

They said it was a “concern” that attacks which had occurred in some parts of the UK, such as in Scotland, would not fall into the draft Bill’s scope.

Since her son’s death, Figen has obtained a masters degree in counterterrorism and received an OBE.

Nick Aldworth, a former police Chief Superintendent and Head of Protect and Prepare Counter Terror policing, said: "The one thing all families who lose loved ones to terrorism want is to make sure we learn the lessons from their tragedy. But seven years after the awful Manchester Arena bombing - despite lots of talk and promises - we are no safer than we were then. It’s time to pass Martyn’s Law.”

Brendan Cox, co-founder of Survivor’s Against Terror and the husband of murdered MP Jo Cox, said: "Martyn’s Law is ready to go, has all party support and public backing.

"As the House of Commons work day hits record lows there is simply no excuse for not bringing Martyn’s Law to the House now. Martyn’s mum shouldn’t be having to walk from Manchester to London to put pressure on the government to do something it has promised multiple times."

Martyn, a PR manager from Stockport, was 29. He was four metres away from bomber Salman Abedi at the time of the blast.

A post-mortem examination concluded he died from 'multiple injuries' and experts said his injuries were 'unsurvivable', the public inquiry into the atrocity was told.

A Home Office spokesperson said: "We are grateful to Figen Murray and the Martyn’s Law campaign for their tireless support in the development of this vital reform. The Government remains committed to taking action to improve the security of our public venues by introducing Martyn’s Law, as was reaffirmed in the King's Speech.

"To ensure that we strike the right balance between public protection and avoiding undue burdens on smaller businesses and premises, the Government launched a public consultation.

"We are reviewing its findings to ensure all feedback is fully considered, and working to finalise the legislation with a view to introducing as soon as parliamentary time allows."