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Understanding Martyn’s Law

Martyn’s Law, also known as the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025, was developed to improve public safety by ensuring venues and events are better prepared for potential terrorist incidents.

The legislation is named in memory of Martyn Hett, one of the 22 people who lost their lives in the Manchester Arena attack in 2017. Following the tragedy, Figen Murray, Martyn’s mother, campaigned tirelessly for stronger protection in publicly accessible spaces, advocating for greater preparedness, awareness, and coordinated response. It seeks to make public protection a shared responsibility, ensuring that all organisations, regardless of size, consider how they would act to keep people safe in the event of an attack.

Martyn’s Law received Royal Assent on 3 April 2025, marking a major step towards improving public protection across the UK. Qualifying premises and events now have 24 months to prepare, and compliance is expected to come into force in April 2027.

Why It’s Needed

Until now, preparedness for terrorist incidents has primarily relied on voluntary measures rather than a defined legal framework. While many organisations already have robust safety procedures for fire and health and safety, levels of preparedness for hostile acts have varied widely.

The UK’s current national terrorism threat level is Substantial, meaning an attack is likely. The need for better coordination and planning of security is clear, and Martyn’s Law aims to close that gap by creating a clear, proportionate framework that helps venues assess risk, plan responses and train staff. It is not about creating new burdens, but about raising awareness, consistency and readiness, helping ensure that staff and the public know what to do in a crisis.

What It Means for Public Premises

For owners and operators of public spaces, the Act introduces a new baseline of protective security and emergency preparedness. This means:

  • Assess the risks of a terrorist incident at their site or event
  • Develop proportionate security plans
  • Implement and practise clear procedures for keeping people safe

“Martyn’s Law will save lives” – Figen Murray

Compliance for Standard Tier Premises

The Standard Tier applies to publicly accessible premises and events with a capacity between 200 and 799 people.

Best practices include:​

  • Ensuring staff are trained to respond effectively in different types of emergencies
  • Developing and maintaining a simple emergency procedure covering evacuation, lockdown, and communication.
  • Focusing on procedural preparedness rather than formal security infrastructure.

The Standard Tier provides a basic but vital layer of protection, helping organisations prepare their people to respond effectively, reduce harm and protect the public.

Applications

Schools and Education Providers

Libraries

Local museums or galleries

Small theatres or community halls

Pubs, cafés, and restaurants

Leisure Centres

Places of Worship

Compliance for Enhanced Tier Premises

The Enhanced Tier applies to publicly accessible premises and events with a capacity of 800 people or more.

At this level, the law requires organisations to adopt a more structured and detailed approach to safety and security. This includes formal risk management, planning, and physical protective measures proportionate to identified risks.

Best practices include:

  • Conducting a Terrorism/Vulnerability Risk Assessment for the premises (including mitigation measures and formal security planning)
  • Implementing physical security measures based on the risk assessment, which may include entry checks, trained security personnel and surveillance systems
  • A detailed security plan that outlines how the organisation will prevent, respond to and recover from a terrorist incident
  • Ensure staff are trained in the event of a terrorist incident
  • Appoint a Designated Senior Individual (DSI) for compliance
  • Cooperate with the SIA regulator​

The Enhanced Tier reflects a higher level of responsibility, ensuring that larger or higher-risk premises are equipped to effectively prevent and respond to terrorist threats.

Applications

Cathedrals or large places of worship

Hospitals

Shopping Centres

Concert halls and large theatres

Four Emergency Planning Procedures

Effective emergency planning saves lives

Under Martyn’s Law, those responsible for qualifying premises and events must have appropriate public protection procedures in place to help reduce the risk of harm if a terrorist attack occurs at or near the site.

The law defines four core procedures that every in-scope organisation should plan for and communicate clearly:

1. Evacuation – exit to safety

  • Moving people quickly and safely out of the premises
  • Routes should be clearly marked, unobstructed and known to all staff

2. Invacuation – guide, shelter and communicate

  • Moving people to a safer area within the premises
  • Staff should know where to move people, how to secure the area, and how to keep everyone calm and informed

3. Lockdown – secure and restrict movement

  • Securing people inside by restricting access and preventing entry/ exit
  • Protect occupants from danger outside the premises

4. Communication – alert, inform and instruct

  • Ensuring staff and the public are informed clearly and quickly during an incident
  • Internal alerts, public announcements, and coordination with emergency services

Examples of Protective Measures

The measures below illustrate examples of physical and procedural actions that organisations may consider under each tier, based on the level of risk and capacity.

Standard-tier procedures relate to evacuation, invacuation, lockdown and communication, helping ensure a clear and effective response to emergencies.

Physical Measures:

  • Basic access control (ID, locks)
  • CCTV covering entrances
  • Clear evacuation routes
  • Simple barriers

Procedural Measures:

  • Staff training
  • Simple incident plan
  • Periodic fire / security evacuation drills
  • Communicating emergency messages clearly

Enhanced-tier premises must meet all Standard Tier requirements. Depending on the nature of the premises and the risks identified, these measures also focus on monitoring, movement control, physical security, and security of information.

Physical Measures:

  • Zoned access control and secure entry points
  • Layered perimeter protection (bollards, barriers)
  • CCTV and surveillance systems
  • Screening and searches
  • Secure zones / restricted areas

Procedural Measures:

  • Staff training and awareness
  • Incident response and evacuation planning
  • Crowd management strategies
  • Regular testing and scenario exercises

Who Is Your Regulator?

The SIA (Security Industry Authority) will serve as the regulator for Martyn’s Law. The SIA will ensure that those in charge of qualifying premises understand their duties and take proportionate steps to protect the public.

As regulators, the SIA will:

  • Publish official guidance and advice to help organisations meet the new legal requirements.
  • Support duty holders in understanding and implementing the public protection procedures and measures required under the law.
  • Monitor compliance and take enforcement action where necessary.

Failure to meet the obligations set out in the legislation may result in the SIA issuing:

  • Compliance notices
  • Monetary penalties
  • Restriction notices

Martyn’s Law and Its Relevance to Fire Safety

Martyn’s Law encourages a broader approach to life safety, raising standards of preparedness, and ensuring that organisations consider how their people, systems, and procedures would respond in an emergency.

Fire systems already follow well-established, proven detection, alerting, evacuation, and communication protocols. Many of Martyn’s Law’s objectives align with well-established fire safety principles.

Many practices already used in fire protection, such as alarm systems, evacuation procedures, and incident communication, support the same goal: a clear duty of care to protect life, whatever the threat. This may mean adapting existing fire systems to support wider emergency planning through additional integrations and control measures for many premises. These improvements can enhance situational awareness, coordination, and response across all types of incidents.

By building on established fire safety practices, organisations can strengthen resilience and better meet new requirements. Ultimately, compliance will be shaped by the individual risk assessment for each premises, which will determine what protective measures are reasonable and proportionate.

Key Responsibilities

Understanding the premises and people​

It is the number of people you might reasonably expect to have on your site, not your fire security capacity, including staff and visitors​.

Physical and technical security​

Systems are only effective if maintained and actively monitored - technology alone is not a safeguard.

Potential threats and vulnerabilities​

Not all threats are extreme but minor oversights such as poorly lit areas or unsecured doors can create significant vulnerabilities.

Implementation of procedures and training​

Written procedures provide structure, but staff are unlikely to perform effectively under pressure without practice and training.

Emergency preparedness​

Preparedness is about coordination as much as evacuation. It involves knowing who communicates, who leads, and how to manage people in a crisis.

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