Martyn’s Law campaigner Figen Murray has in mind that she may have to ‘protest’ if the Home Office looks like it won’t meet the 24-month ‘implementation period’ of the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act, the UK CMA (Crowd Management Association) conference heard in Middlesbrough yesterday.
The industry body was meeting like last year in Middlesbrough Town Hall (pictured), as a concert venue itself due to come under Martyn’s Law, which was passed in April 2025. To recap, the Home Office stated that an ‘implementation period’ would be at least 24 months, before Martyn’s Law – a legal responsibility on some venues and events to take steps to counter the risk of terrorism – came into effect; that is, from April 2027. Another date relevant for Figen is May 22, 2027; the tenth anniversary of the Manchester Arena terrorist attack, that led to the death of her son Martyn Hett among the 22 dead, that led to her campaigning for the law.
Figen was speaking as part of a panel arranged by the UK CMA with other parents bereaved; Ken Johnson whose son Scott died in a stage collapse, and Brian Dubiski whose daughter Madison was among those who died in a crush at a concert in Houston, Texas. The Pink Bows Foundation for crowd safety, set up by the Dubiskis as a legacy for Madison was among the sponsors of the UK CMA’s two-day event.
Walk to London
Figen is no stranger to publicising her cause, with supporters; in May 2024, she and husband Stuart with security industry and other well-wishers walked in 15-mile stages over a fortnight from the Arena to Downing Street, to put her case to the then Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and other parliamentarians, including the then leader of the Opposition Sir Keir Starmer. That proved decisive in galvanising commitment from both main political parties to backing Martyn’s Law, which duly came in under the new Labour government with minimal querying from MPs and peers.
Figen told the UK CMA that she didn’t want to do such a 200-mile walk again; having turned 65 (and having had a hip operation shortly after the 2024 ‘protest march’). She added: “I don’t want to continue the intensity of work that I am doing,” and spoke of looking forward to doing other things, once the implementation period is past.
Panel
A later panel of UK CMA past and present chairs, Anne Marie Chebib and Eric Stuart, with former counter-terror policeman now an events adviser Russ Philips went over the ‘current version of truth’ about Martyn’s Law, stressing that the Home Office statutory guidance is awaited. Until that’s published, managers of premises don’t know the detail about how to comply with Martyn’s Law; nor can the Security Industry Authority (SIA), the regulator and inspector of Martyn’s Law, publish their own documents on their regulatory regime. Like other who have seen the Home Office’s draft guidance, Russ Philips praised it as ‘thorough’. Of the Home Office, Russ Philips said: “They are desperate to get this [guidance] out.”
Day two
The UK CMA event continues today with a pair of morning sessions chaired by the association’s patron Philip Kolvin KC, under the umbrella of ‘when things go wrong and right’, when speakers include the event security veteran Mark Hamilton; and Miriam Stone, who worked at the Manchester Arena and who has spoken to numerous security audiences. Among other topics covered over the two days are cultural awareness and inclusivity; and local government SAGs (safety advisory groups).
Flowcharts
The UK CMA has flowcharts for members to go over whether their venues and events come under Martyn’s Law, and if so whether in the standard (200-799 capacity, including staff) or enhanced tiers (800-plus). Similar flowcharts are also on the UK official Protect UK website.
More in the April 2026 edition of Professional Security Magazine.
