As trailed in the King’s Speech in July, the Labour Government lost little time in bringing forward a new version of the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill, after Rishi Sunak’s Government brought out a draft one in 2023, writes Mark Rowe.
Martyn’s Law is the new name as proposed by the Home Office for the law that will place a legal responsibility on premises to take steps to counter terrorism; previously termed the Protect Duty. That will serve to mark Martyn Hett, the son of campaigner Figen Murray who was among those killed in the Manchester Arena bombing. Private security people will have to do more than bring venues to compliance with Martyn’s Law (and document it; it may well be that sites already have security that satisfies whatever the proposed regulator the Security Industry Authority sets). They will have to answer questions about what venues and staff would do, were the worst to happen, to save lives.
Because the Manchester Arena Inquiry did more than identify forensically shortcomings in the Arena’s security and the emergency response on the night of May 22, 2017. The Inquiry pointed to a ‘care gap’; the time it takes from a mass casualty event – whether an act of terror, or an accidental explosion – to the arrival of the paramedics and other trained, equipped responders. Close the ‘gap’, and more of the injured will survive. Hence the idea of triage, and TST (this field, like so many others, abounds in abbreviations). That’s short for ‘ten second triage’ and was featured in the August edition from the first aid kit supplier Steroplast’s exhibiting at Security TWENTY Manchester at Old Trafford, pictured. At the Steroplast stand at the Emergency Services Show at the NEC, courtesy of Janice McMahon we met James Boyd of triage and medical equipment supplier TSG Associates.
NHS England has adopted ‘ten second triage’ that the event steward, security officer or even passer-by could apply; and MITT (major incident triage tool) for the clinician. As James said, after a terrorist attack such as the Madrid train bombings of 2004, people carried out triage naturally – by the time the emergency services were on the scene at stations, the uninjured were helping care for the injured. ‘Ten second triage’, and a bookmark-sized simple diagram, offers a system for taking those responders through the basics.
For more on ‘ten second triage’ visit the NHS England website.
More in the November edition of Professional Security Magazine. See also the January 2025 edition for a report on the NAHS (National Association for Healthcare Security) annual conference in Birmingham.
