Christopher BarrettMartyn’s Law (also known as Protect Duty) campaigner Figen Murray has called on the live events industry to not just vocalise its support for her but to unite and collectively push Government to implement change.
Murray, mother of Martyn Hett who was one of 22 people who died in the 2017 Manchester Arena attack, has since the tragedy been pushing for increased anti-terrorism measures at publicly accessible facilities such as venues. She is calling on the industry to get together and write an open letter and publish it in the newspapers.
Tom Tugendhat, who was appointed minister for security on 6 September, has informed LIVE that the Government is committed to bringing forward a draft Protect Duty bill this session, as soon as parliamentary time allows. That means it could be spring 2023 before the draft is issued.
Murray said, “I get everything from people coming up to me and saying, ‘you’re great, you’re inspirational’, to standing ovations at events. That’s all great, I really value that, but that’s not what I’m doing this for. I want change.
“I have become a figurehead for this, which is something I didn’t expect when I started the petition all those years ago, but just being the figurehead is not enough. The time has now come for change. I need the industry to start becoming vocal, not just me, I need the industry to say to Government, ‘stop messing around, we need this legislation’.
Volume Two of the Manchester Arena Inquiry report was published last week.