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Venues to have legal duty to be prepared for terror attacks under new legislation
There is currently no legal requirement for any venues to employ security measures for their events
Venues across the country will have a legal duty to protect the public from terrorist attacks under new government plans about to be published.
According to the BBC, Home Secretary Priti Patel will set out the proposals for the so-called ‘Protect Duty’ tomorrow, Tuesday January 11th, following an eighteen-week consultation.
As it stands, there is currently no legal requirement for any venues to employ security measures at the vast majority of public places.
The law change comes following a lengthy campaign from Figen Murray, mother to twenty-nine-year-old Martyn Hett who died in the Manchester Arena bombing in 2017.
‘Martyn’s Law’ calls for venues and local authorities to have action plans against such attacks, which killed twenty-two people and injured hundreds more in the wake of an Ariana Grande concert.
Mrs. Murray has welcomed the report on the consultation and said she hoped the legislation would be introduced as quickly as possible ‘to avoid the further unnecessary loss of innocent lives’.
She told BBC Breakfast that everything she had done since her son died has been ‘purely for the sole purpose to stop other people from experiencing and having to live a life that we are living now’
She explained: “The effects of losing someone to a terror attack are life-changing.”
Mrs. Murray added that it would be ‘amazing’ if the legislation could be passed by the fifth anniversary of the attack in May this year, adding: “That would mean so much for me but [also] for the other families as well.”
David Dixon / Geograph
In advance of the plans’ publication, Priti Patel said: “Following the tragic attack at the Manchester Arena, we have worked closely with Figen Murray, victims’ groups and partners to develop proposals to improve protective security around the country.
“I am grateful for their tireless commitment to the duty and those who responded to the consultation; the majority of whom agreed tougher measures are needed to protect the public from harm.
“We will never allow terrorists to restrict our freedoms and way of life, which is why we are committed to bringing forward legislation this year that will strike the right balance between public safety, whilst not placing excessive burden on small businesses.”