Mandatory terrorism prevention and protection regime: What does Martyn's Law mean for UK sports organizations?

After much lobbying from the families impacted by the Manchester Arena bombings in 2017, we now have a draft of the so-called Martyn’s Law, named after Martyn Hett, who was killed in the attack.

Its full title is the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill, and it is designed to introduce a mandatory regime for public premises to have to take proactive steps to ensure preparedness for, and protection from, terrorist attacks.

To date, the UK’s approach to this sort of security has been voluntary. While for larger-scale stadiums and sports complexes, aspects of this new law will be familiar (with elements building on the Counter Terrorism guidance issued by the Sports Grounds Safety Authority¹), for others, including volunteer-run sports grounds, this will involve entirely new considerations and procedures. 

Much of the practical detail will be set out in Government guidance and further regulations to be published in due course but there is a lot that sports organisations who own or control sports grounds and premises can and should be doing now to anticipate this bill becoming law (which is expected to occur later this year or early next).

This article discusses which sports organisations may be impacted by the potential law and the requirements that the bill currently imposes.