The Government has launched a consultation to help work out the best way to introduce ‘Martyn’s Law’ across the UK.
Named in honour of Martyn Hett, who was one of the 22 victims that sadly lost their life during the Manchester Arena attack in 2017, ‘Martyn’s Law’ will require premises to fulfil what the Government has called “necessary but proportionate” steps, according to their capacity, to help keep the general public safe.
It was approved back in September 2022, thanks to a campaign spearheaded by Martyn’s mother, Figen Murray.
Today, we announced how #MartynsLaw will help protect public spaces from terror attacks.
Named in of honour of Martyn Hett, who lost his life in the Manchester Arena attack, this is what the law will do ⤵️
The new law will “scale-up preparedness for terrorist attacks” and make sure the public is protected – but the Government says it’s keen to do this without affecting small businesses.
The way Government ministers have proposed to do this is to consider premises either ‘standard tier’, meaning they have capacity of 100-799, or ‘enhanced tier’, with a capacity of 800 or more.
ADVERTISEMENT
The consultation on these updated approaches – which launched this week, and is open to the public to have their say until 18 March – will seek views to make sure the new requirements “do not place undue burdens” on some of the country’s smaller businesses, all while still protecting the public.
A consultation has been launched to work out how to best introduce ‘Martyn’s Law’ across the UK / Credit: gov.uk
“Simple steps save lives,” commented Security Minister Tom Tugendhat, as the consultation officially launched.
ADVERTISEMENT
“Martyn’s Law will help protect the British public from terrorism, and make sure public premises are better prepared in the event of a terror attack [but] I want to make sure that our proposals are balanced and proportionate, and that’s why our updated approach is easy to implement, and better tailored to individual businesses.
“I’d encourage smaller premises to share their feedback on these crucial changes, as your views will help ensure that Martyn’s Law stands the test of time.”
🗓️22 May 2017
Twenty-two people were killed in a cowardly terrorist attack at Manchester Arena. Martyn's Law will increase security in public venues so other families don’t have to experience such a loss.
We want to hear your views by 18 March on how we can make the UK safer👇
The Government’s launching of this new consultation to update and eventually help make ‘Martyn’s Law’ a reality comes after it was revealed that thousands of Mancs have now been equipped with counter terror skills after signing up for specialist Action Counters Terrorism (ACT) training.
ADVERTISEMENT
The Action Counters Terrorism (ACT) training – which is a partnership between Manchester City Council, CityCo, and Counter Terror Policing North West – aims to equip staff at a wide range of companies across the city centre with skills to “identify and mitigate potential risks” that will help increase response in the event of a terror attack.
Close to 500 venues and more than 1,000 members of staff have been trained as part of their commitment to playing their part in making Manchester safer, the Council confirmed.
You can have your say in the ‘Martyn’s Law’ consultation on the gov.uk website here.
Featured Image – gov.uk
News
Chester Zoo named one of England’s most popular tourist attractions with 1.9m visitors
Emily Sergeant
Congratulations are in order, yet again, for Chester Zoo… as this time its been one of England’s most popular attractions.
Merely months after being named the UK’s best zoo for the second year running, thanks to receiving more than 11,000 ‘excellent’ reviews from TripAdvisor, Chester Zoo has now got itself another prestigious title, as a major VisitEngland (VE) report has ranked it the third most-visited ‘paid for’ attraction in England – and the most visited outside of London.
The national tourist board for England gathered information from a total of 1,373 attractions across the country, and ranked the UK’s biggest charity zoo as the third overall in terms of popularity, with a whopping 1.9 million visitors in 2024 alone.
The Tower of London took top spot with 2.9 million visitors, while the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew was second place with 2.3 million visitors.
When it comes to free attractions, on the other hand, it wad the British Museum that claimed the top spot with 6.5 million visitors, while the Natural History Museum (5.9 million visitors) took second place, and the Tate Modern (4.6 million visitors) got third.
So as you can see, the south and London in particular is a pretty dominating force in England’s tourism industry – which is why it’s even more impressive to see Chester Zoo ranked so highly.
The new VE title also comes after the zoo was recently given £4 million of lottery funding to help ‘transform’ the local environment and restore wildlife habitats across the Cheshire and wider North West region.
Not only that, but if course follows Chester Zoo’s unveiling of its new immersive experience named Heart of Africa, which is the the largest zoo habitat ever created in the UK and is home to 57 iconic African species.
Chester Zoo has been named one of England’s most popular tourist attractions with 1.9m visitors / Credit: Chester Zoo
“As a major international wildlife charity, everything we do is focused on supporting global conservation,” commented Chester Zoo’s Commercial Director, Dom Strange.
“Whether it’s caring for highly-threatened animals and plants, making scientific discoveries, influencing Government environmental policies, impacting the National Curriculum to better connect young people with nature, or our conservation efforts in around 20 countries, we’re fully committed to protecting endangered species for the future.
“But none of this would be possible without our visitors.
“Every person who comes to the zoo for a fun and inspiring day out is helping to fund our vital work, so we want to say a heartfelt thank you to everyone who has supported us and helped us to rank so highly in VisitEngland’s latest report.”
Featured Image –
News
Manchester Museum saves a ‘national treasure’ to ensure it stays in the UK
Emily Sergeant
Manchester Museum has made a stunning new addition to its natural history collections, and in the process has ensured a ‘national treasure’ stays in the UK.
Not long after claiming the coveted title of European Museum of the Year for 2025, Manchester Museum has done it again – this time working together with John Rylands Library to acquire Henry Dresser’s unique personal copy of his anthology A History of the Birds of Europe so that this ‘invaluable resource’ can remain in the UK for future generations.
The beautifully-illustrated collection of books provide an important historical record to help understand how and why bird populations have changed over time.
Dresser’s personal copy is heavily-annotated with personal notes and observations.
These books are deemed to be of ‘outstanding significance’, not only for scientific purposes but also for their aesthetic value, as they have also been illustrated by some of the leading wildlife artists of the day.
The volumes were recognised as a national treasure by the Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest, which is supported by the Arts Council, and this meant that the Government placed a temporary export deferral on them to allow time for UK buyers to raise the funds to keep them in the country.
Brilliantly, the acquisition of these books reunites them with Dresser’s own bird specimens that are already cared for by Manchester Museum, including species such as the Slender-billed curlew, which is now believed to be extinct.
The now-extinct species’ presence in both Dresser’s beautifully-annotated volumes and the ornithological collections at Manchester Museum highlights the vital role that historical records play in tracking biodiversity loss over time to uncover the long-term impact of environmental change.
Manchester Museum has saved a ‘national treasure’ to ensure it stays in the UK / Credit: Manchester Museum
“Threats to the natural world and biodiversity have never been greater and while this anthology has historical value, it also speaks to the urgent issues of the present,” commented Esme Ward, who is the Director of Manchester Museum.
“These books are breathtakingly beautiful, and by bringing them together with natural history collections, we believe they will not only provide scientific benefit, but also capture the hearts of future ornithologists and conservationists.”
A History of the Birds of Europe will be officially unveiled at a private view on Friday 27 June, before being displayed to the public for the first time in Manchester Museum’s ‘Living Worlds’ gallery from Saturday 28 June 2025 right through until Sunday 25 January 2026.
Emily Sergeant -
7th February 2024 
