The Terrorism Act 2025 (Martyn’s Law)
The Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025, commonly known as Martyn's Law, was introduced following the Manchester Arena attack on 22 May 2017, in which 22 people, including Martyn Hett, lost their lives. The legislation was championed by Martyn's mother, Figen Murray OBE, whose tireless campaigning helped bring about this important change in public safety legislation.
Martyn's Law aims to improve public safety by requiring those responsible for certain publicly accessible premises and events to consider the risks posed by terrorism and implement appropriate and proportionate measures to help protect people and places.
Statutory guidance has also been published by the Home Office to help organisations determine whether they fall within scope of the legislation and understand their legal responsibilities.
Martyn's Law takes a proportionate, tiered approach, with requirements based on the size and nature of a premises or event. For more information about Martyn’s Law, please view the Martyn’s Law Explainer.
The Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025 (Martyn's Law) applies to certain publicly accessible premises and events where there is a reasonable expectation that 200 or more individuals may be present.
The legislation covers a wide range of venues and locations, including those used for entertainment, hospitality, retail, museums and galleries, sports and leisure, visitor attractions, places of worship, healthcare, education, and public areas of local and central government buildings. Certain temporary events may also fall within scope.
Further information on which premises and events are in scope can be found in the Scope (Events) and Scope (Premises) Factsheets.
Standard Tier
Premises that reasonably expect between 200 and 799 people to be present at the same time will fall within the Standard Tier.
These venues are required to have practical procedures in place to help reduce harm in the event of a terrorist incident.
For further information on the Standard Tier Requirements, visit the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025: Standard Duty Requirements Factsheet.
Enhanced Tier
Premises and qualifying events that can reasonably expect 800 or more individuals to be present fall within the Enhanced Tier.
In addition to public protection procedures, responsible persons must assess the risk of terrorism and implement reasonably practicable measures to reduce vulnerabilities and the potential impact of an attack.
For further information on the Enhanced Tier Requirements, visit the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025: Enhanced Duty Requirements Factsheet.
Qualifying Public Events
An event may fall within scope of the Law, if it meets the following criteria:
- the event is held at premises which are not already qualifying public premises;
- the event is accessible to members of the public;
- there is a reasonable expectation that 800 or more people, including staff, will attend; and
- entry conditions are in place, such as ticket checks or similar access controls
Qualifying events fall within the Enhanced Tier requirements.
Further information on qualifying events can be found in the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025: Scope (events).
Responsible Person
Under Martyn's Law, the responsible person is the individual or organisation that has control of a qualifying premises or event in connection with its use. This is usually the person, business, organisation or venue operator responsible for managing the premises or event and ensuring the required public protection measures and procedures are in place.
The responsible person has a legal duty to comply with the requirements of the Act, including implementing appropriate preparedness and protective security measures where required. Where more than one organisation is involved, responsibilities may vary depending on who has control of the premises or event.
For further information about the Responsible Person, please see the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025: Responsible person factsheet - GOV.UK
Compliance
The Security Industry Authority (SIA) has been appointed as the regulator for Martyn's Law and will take a supportive, proportionate and risk-based approach to promoting compliance and improving public safety. Comprehensive statutory guidance and supporting resources have been published to help organisations understand whether they fall within scope and how to meet their responsibilities under the legislation.
For further information on the regulator, sanctions and enforcement, please see the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025: The regulator, sanctions and enforcement factsheet.
How to Prepare
Organisations can take several practical steps to strengthen preparedness and improve public safety.
Build awareness and capability by completing free training such as ACT Awareness e-Learning, ACT for Events, and See, Check and Notify (SCaN) training, which help staff recognise potential threats, identify suspicious behaviour and understand how to respond appropriately.
Understand your risks by assessing how your premises, venue or event could be vulnerable to a terrorist attack and identifying proportionate measures to reduce those risks.
Develop and maintain public protection procedures, including plans for evacuation, invacuation, lockdown and communicating with staff, visitors and emergency services during an incident. Plans should be regularly reviewed, exercised and updated.
Promote a positive security culture by ensuring staff understand their role in keeping people safe, know how to raise concerns, and feel confident reporting suspicious activity.
Stay vigilant and encourage staff and volunteers to be alert to suspicious behaviour, unusual activity, unattended items or individuals showing an inappropriate interest in security arrangements, access points or crowded places.
Be security-minded online and offline by protecting sensitive information about your premises, events and operations, and considering whether publicly available information could be useful to someone planning harmful activity.
Make use of available guidance and toolkits, including ProtectUK's risk assessment resources, preparedness guidance, operational learning, good practice advice, training packages and Martyn's Law resources.