,  By  T-VINE

“Martyn’s Law will definitely save lives” – Figen Murray’s delight as draft bill included in King’s Speech

Figen Murray, the mother of Manchester Arena terrorist attack victim Martyn Hett, has hailed the inclusion of Martyn’s Law in the King’s Speech on 17July. It is one of 39 bills the new Labour Government intends to adopt as part of its programme of legislation in the new Parliamentary session.

Writing on X (formerly Twitter), Figen Murray said: “Martyn’s Law will definitely save lives and I honestly hope the government will get this done as soon as possible. There are a few more steps in needs to take but I hope they will be dealt with swiftly.”

She also wrote, “Whilst #MartynsLaw has been in the King’s Speech before this time it feels different. I am grateful that this new government is picking the legislation up & will run with it. I feel so much more positive,” before thanking the Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, Security Minister Dan Jarvis, and Manchester Central MP and Leader of the House of Commons Lucy Powell for their support.

The proposed draft Terrorism Protection bill, also known as Martyn’s Law, will require venues with a capacity of over one hundred people to put measures in place to deal with the threat of terrorism. This will include free online training to staff provided by the government, and the need to have a counter-terrorism plan in place in case the unthinkable happens.

Martyn Hett was just 29 years old when he was killed when a suicide bomber struck an Ariana Grande concert at Manchester Arena on 22 May 2017. He was one of 22 victims killed in the blast that occured inside the venue.

Four years ago, an inquiry into the Manchester terrorist attack heard about the gaps in the venue’s risk assessment and security planning due to a lack of consideration given to terrorism as a potential threat. There were also insufficient security sweeps of the venue during the Ariana Grande concert, allowing the perpetrator to go undetected before his attack.

A counsellor by profession, following her son’s death Figen decided to swap her day job for a mission to bring about peace, tolerance and improved security across the UK.

The Istanbul-born mother started to campaign for changes to the law to ensure UK venues are better prepared for terror threats. Her first step was to launch an online petition, which received over 23,000 signatures.

Since then, Figen has been working with a team of co-campaigners, as well as meeting government officials and ministers regularly to determine how her ideas to make it a legal duty for large venues to incorporate terror threats and public safety into their risk assessments because law.

Although the previous Conservative government had pledged to pass the draft bill, it never materialised. The lack of progress prompted Figen to walk 200 miles from Manchester to London earlier this year to reignite awareness of Martyn’s Law and press Rishi Sunak to act.

Figen started her walk on 7 May and arrived at Downing Street on 22 May – the seventh anniversary of Martyn’s death.

Due to the general election, the Conservatives ran out of time to pass the legislation and the baton has now passed to Labour. The fact Martyn’s Law has been mentioned in the King’s Speech means it will be a priority for the new government.

Alongside her campaigning, Figen has also completed a Master’s Degree in counter-terrorism, which gave her deeper insights into how the current law works and what was needed to improve it.

Figen  was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from Salford University in 2022, and made a Visiting Fellow at the Institute of Strategic Risk Management (ISRM). She was also awarded an OBE in the 2022 New Year’s Honours List.