The mother of a man killed in the 2017 Manchester attack has urged Rishi Sunak to introduce a law to ensure stronger protections against terrorism in public places “without further delay”.
Known as Martyn’s Law, the legislation is named after Martyn Hett, one of the 22 people killed at the end of an Ariana Grande concert in May 2017.
His mother Figen Murray has delivered a letter to Downing Street, asking the PM to “make this legislation happen”. No 10 said it was being reviewed.
Ministers published draft details of Martyn’s Law in May after years of campaigning by Ms Murray.
In the letter she said: “I have made it my mission to do everything possible to prevent other parents, families and friends going through the devastating experiences that my family has endured.
“I initiated the campaign to introduce Martyn’s Law because I wanted to work with the government and security industry to introduce legislation that would better protect the public from terror attacks.”
Her letter to the Prime Minister comes after the Home Affairs Select Committee warned in July that the draft Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill, also known as Martyn’s Law, would put small businesses and organisations at risk of closure and fail to “make a significant impact” on preventing attacks.
But Ms Murray, who received an OBE for services to counter terrorism in June 2022, claims the committee reached a “dangerous and misguided” conclusion after scrutinising the draft legislation.
A government spokeswoman said: “We are grateful to Figen Murray and the Martyn’s Law campaign for their support in the development of this vital reform…”
Adding that the government was “carefully reviewing” their recommendations “to ensure the implementation of Martyn’s Law is properly understood and effective”.