On 3^rd April 2025, the UK Government confirmed a major step forward in safeguarding the public: Martyn’s Law – officially the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025 – received Royal Assent.

Named in memory of Martyn Hett, one of the 22 people who tragically lost their lives in the 2017 Manchester Arena terrorist attack at the Ariana Grande concert. This legislation is the result of tireless campaigning by his mother, Figen Murray. Following the loss of her son, she has worked relentlessly to drive meaningful change – supported by a personal commitment from the Prime Minister to ensure this legislation was passed swiftly. Martyn’s Law represents a national commitment to enhancing public safety and helping to prevent such tragedies from occurring again.

Martyn’s Law introduces a new legal duty for organisations to assess terrorism risks, strengthen preparedness and implement effective measures to protect people during terror attacks.

Whether your premises welcome hundreds or thousands of people, Martyn’s Law makes it clear: preparation saves lives.

The law provides a 24-month implementation period, giving premises and event organisers time to assess their premises, develop procedures and achieve full compliance by 3^rd April 2027.

Martyn’s Law forms part of the UK Government’s wider counter-terrorism strategy, known as CONTEST, which aims to reduce the risk from terrorism to the UK and strengthen national resilience.

CONTEST is built around four key strands:

• Prevent – stopping people from becoming involved in terrorism
• Pursue – investigating and disrupting terrorist activity
• Protect – strengthening protection against attacks
• Prepare – reducing the impact of incidents and improving recovery

Martyn’s Law particularly supports the Protect and Prepare strands by encouraging organisations to improve operational readiness, protective security and emergency preparedness across publicly accessible premises and events.