The Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025 — Martyn's Law — received Royal Assent in April 2025, with at least a 24-month implementation period before duties take effect. That clock is running. Here's the practical version.
Where the law came from
Martyn's Law is named for Martyn Hett, one of 22 people murdered in the Manchester Arena attack in May 2017. His mother, Figen Murray, campaigned for legislation requiring venues and events to take proportionate steps against the terrorist threat — assessing risks, identifying weak points and mitigating them. The Act is the result.
Who is in scope
- Standard tier — premises with 200 to 799 people. Notify the Security Industry Authority (SIA) and put in place appropriate public protection procedures to reduce harm in the event of an attack. The focus is on simple, low-cost preparedness; physical security measures are not mandated.
- Enhanced tier — premises and qualifying events with 800+ people. Everything above, plus appropriate measures to reduce the premises' vulnerability to attack and the risk of physical harm — documented and provided to the SIA.
"Reasonably practicable" runs through the Act: what's expected is proportionate to your size, resources and risk — a village hall is not expected to screen like an airport.
Where screening fits
For enhanced-tier venues and events — stadiums, arenas, festivals, exhibition halls, large places of worship — entry screening is one of the clearest vulnerability-reduction measures available. The practical question is how to do it without wrecking entry flow or the budget. A few honest observations from the checkpoints we run:
- Manual bag searches don't scale. They're slow, inconsistent and generate exactly the crowded, impatient queue you're trying to avoid — which is itself a vulnerability.
- Hire beats buy for most events. Refurbished aviation-standard X-ray and WTMD equipment can be hired for days or seasons at a fraction of purchase cost — we deployed exactly this at the Commonwealth Games, and long-term rental fees include full maintenance.
- AI raises the standard without raising headcount. AI weapons detection flags threats automatically and lets one operator run two lanes — significant when trained screeners are scarce.
- Screening the perimeter matters too. The Act's thinking extends to the vicinity of a venue where crowds gather; fast, touchless options like ferromagnetic detection suit outer layers where archways would bottleneck.
What to do this quarter
- Confirm your tier — establish your reasonable-worst-case occupancy and whether you're standard, enhanced or out of scope.
- Write the procedures — evacuation, invacuation, lockdown, communication. Standard-tier duties are mostly this.
- If enhanced: assess entry screening honestly — footfall per gate per hour, threat items of concern, weather exposure, power. (We do this walkthrough with venues free of charge.)
- Trial before you commit — hire a lane for one event and measure real throughput before designing the permanent answer.
The implementation window is exactly that — a window. Venues that trial screening now will meet the commencement date with evidence, trained stewards and a working design, rather than a purchase order and hope.
Official guidance: see the Home Office collection on the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025 at gov.uk and ProtectUK.