On 22 May 2017, Figen Murray’s son Martyn Hett went to a concert and never came home. Martyn was one of the 22 lives lost in the Manchester Arena bombing. Now Murray is striving to create a lasting legacy for her son, a legacy of improved andpermanent public safety through Martyn’s Law.
Murray is calling on venue operators and event organisers to instate a common standard of counter terrorism precautions across venues and events. Venues and organisers have a duty of care to their visitors and delegates and currently, counter-terrorism measures across venues as well as training for venue and organiser staff is inconsistent.
Martyn’s Law now has the support of Mayor of Manchester, the Prime Minister, Home Secretary and Security Minister.
As a venue operator or event organiser, we implore you to attend International Confex at 2.00pm on 26 February to hear from Murray why the fundamental counter-terror security measures outlined in Martyn’s Law have to become mandatory rather than discretionary, for the protection of us all.
What is Martyn’s Law? Martyn’s Law is a proposed piece of legislation that seeks to create a coherent and proportionate approach to protective security. It should apply to any place or space to which the public have access. For small venues this may simply require an additional to their already mandated fire plan, for bigger more complex venues it will require a more holistic approach.
It consists of five requirements:
1) A requirement that spaces and places to which the public have access engage
with freely available counter-terrorism advice and training.
2) A requirement for those places to conduct vulnerability assessments of their
operating places and spaces.
3) A requirement for those places to mitigate the risks created by the vulnerabilities.
4) A requirement for those places to have a counter-terrorism plan.
5) A requirement for local authorities to plan for the threat of terrorism.
International Confex brings together over 7,700 event professionals across two jam- packed days on 25-26 February at Excel London. Click here to register. You can also meet our Venues team on our stand at the event. We will be demonstrating how our team help users find the ideal venue for any event in the UK, and showing Venues how we can help generate enquiries and maximise your exposure to Venue Bookers. Come and see us on stand number K22C.
