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.
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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.
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“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.
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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
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Details released of Andy Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City owners while Mayor
Emily Sergeant
Details of Andy Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City owners during his tenure as Mayor of Greater Manchester have been released.
In case you need bringing up to speed on the situation a little first, Manchester City was found guilty back in September all of its charges related to the Premier League’s financial rules over a nine-season period, and on top of that, was also found guilty of the majority of charges in relation to its failure to co-operate with the League’s investigation.
According to the Premier League, the independent Commission found that Manchester City had arranged so-called ‘sham’ commercial deals with a number of its sponsors.
These were part of a disguised funding scheme – with those sponsors only required to pay a portion of the relevant sponsorship fees.
The remainder was then funded by Abu Dhabi United Group Investment & Development Ltd (ADUG), which owned the club.
The Commission also concluded, as quoted by the Premier League, that the club had ‘made concerted efforts to stop and frustrate the Premier League investigation’.
Within the past week or so, it has since come to light that now-Prime Minister Andy Burnham had dealings with Manchester City during his tenure as Greater Manchester Mayor, and Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) has now issued a public statement, giving details on the matter and what these ‘dealings’ entailed.
A spokesperson for GMCA confirmed that Burnham had a ‘formal meeting’ with Man City Chairman, Khaldoon Al Mubarak, back in October 2021.
The statement reads in full: “In October 2021, Andy Burnham, in his role as Mayor of Greater Manchester, had a formal meeting with Khaldoon Al Mubarak at the UK Government’s Global Investment Summit arranged by the Department for International Trade.
“In his capacity as Mayor, he was a guest of Manchester City FC at home matches on a small number of occasions, including attending Vincent Kompany’s testimonial match in September 2019, where he met the Chairman informally in the stands. These have been declared in the usual way.
“Also during his time as Mayor, representatives of Greater Manchester sporting clubs would routinely join business delegations as part of Mayoral international visits.
“This included representatives from Manchester United travelling to Austin and Dublin, Lancashire Cricket Club joining a delegation to India, and Manchester City FC staff supporting visits to China and Japan.”
Featured Image – Lauren Hurley / Number 10 Downing Street (Press Image via Flickr)
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Multiple arrests made for ‘tragedy chanting’ and police officer assault as Man City defeated Liverpool
Emily Sergeant
Multiple people were arrested over the weekend as Manchester City defeated Liverpool in a Premier League clash.
Merseyside Police have confirmed that a total of 10 people were arrested during the policing operation at Liverpool’s home ground of Anfield as they hosted Manchester City on Sunday 11 October.
One man was arrested on suspicion of assaulting a police constable, five were on suspicion of tragedy chanting, one on suspicion of being drunk and disorderly, two for affray, and one on suspicion of throwing items onto the pitch.
Police are now appealing to the public, and are particularly looking to speak to witnesses of the assault of the officer.
At around 6:35pm, as fans left the stadium, a police officer sustained a ‘serious facial injury’ during the arrest of a man on Anfield Road, and was subsequently taken to hospital for treatment but is now recovering at home.
Investigating officers are now conducting enquiries, speaking to witnesses, and analysing CCTV and camera phone footage.
Chief Inspector Leanne Hobin said it’s ‘extremely disappointing’ that an officer has sustained a serious injury while carrying out their duty.
“I hope the arrests send a clear message and act as a deterrent to others,” Chief Inspector Hobin continued. “Anyone who engages in this abhorrent behaviour risks ending up in custody and getting a criminal record.
“Despite the actions of a few, the overwhelming majority of the 60,000 fans in attendance behaved well and I want to thank them for their co-operation.”
Manchester City ended up defeated Liverpool 3-0 during the Premier League clash at Anfield.
Emily Sergeant -
7th February 2024 
