Wednesday saw the last leg of campaigner Figen Murray‘s 200-mile walk from Manchester Arena to London, seeking to hold the Conservative Government to account to get passed Martyn’s Law; which would place a legal duty on premises to take measure to counter terrorism.
At 9am on Wednesday, applause from more than 100 well-wishers greeted Figen at Marble Arch, where she and fellow walkers had reached the day before. The crowd then walked the final couple of miles to Downing Street. There Figen did the formal part of the day, handing over a letter asking for the Government to make good their December 2022 commitment to passing the law, in memory of Figen’s son Martyn Hett who was among those who died in the Arena suicide bomb of May 2017. Wednesday was the seventh anniversary of the attack.
Wednesday was only the latest example of the many expressions of support – practical and emotional – by the UK private security industry for Figen and her campaign. Among those accompanying her through a rainy central London were some who had walked with her on earlier stretches of the walk, usually of about a dozen miles each day (without a rest day). They included Lee Darlington, the driver of the vehicle given by Carlisle Support Services, which served as a base to regularly hand out water and food to the walkers, and as a place for walkers (if necessary) to sit and look at their blisters!
As for safety marshalling of the walkers, they were accompanied by Metropolitan Police on foot, and a Met Police man on a mountain bicycle; and uniformed officers from FGH Security, who were among the earliest arrivals so as to hold a briefing beforehand in the Pret shop across the road from Marble Arch (which sits under an advertising hoarding). This was something like home turf for FGH, as among their London contract work is the Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park.
The route was through Hyde Park – with a pause to pay respects at the memorial to the July 7, 2005 terrorist attacks in London – and through Wellington Arch and down Constitution Hill, past Buckingham Palace and through St James’ Park, to Horse Guards, the memorial to the 2002 Bali bombing, and Whitehall. There the walkers, who had picked up further supporters on the way, dispersed (some to make their way to another security industgry event, the annual security officer awards lunch by the ACS Pacesetters group of guarding companies, at Windsor).
As fellow campaigner the former senior counter-terror cop Nick Aldworth informed marchers at Marble Arch, Figen was due to see PM Rishi Sunak in the afternoon after Prime Minister’s Questions; and, significantly, to meet with the Labour Opposition. Other significant news Nick passed on was a commitment from Labour – if they were to take power after a general election – to see through the law.
As it turned out, later that afternoon Rishi Sunak announced a general election for July 4, making it yet more unlikely that the Conservatives would find the parliamentary time to bring in Martyn’s Law – in the Home Office jargon, the Protect Duty – given that the Home Office’s first draft, the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill was last summer roundly dismissed as not fit for purpose by the Home Affairs Select Committee of MPs doing pre-legislative scrutiny. That prompted the Home Office to carry out a second consultation, which closed in March. The Home Office are ‘analysing your feedback’.
As featured in the June edition of Professional Security Magazine, Figen had already stated that she had a ‘plan B’ to work with Labour, in case Martyn’s Law did not come to pass under the Conservatives, given that the Conservatives are widely expected to lose power at the election. More in the July edition of Professional Security.
