Martyn's Law 2025
Martyn's Law: a practical guide to the Protect Duty
Updated 2026
Martyn's Law, the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025, requires those responsible for qualifying public premises and events to put in place procedures that reduce the risk of physical harm if an attack happens. Standard-tier premises (200 to 799 people) must plan for evacuation, moving people to safety, locking down and communication. Enhanced-tier premises and events (800 or more) must also take measures to reduce vulnerability and document them. Being able to move people to safety and account for staff quickly is central to that duty, and a live, timestamped record evidences it.
- 1. Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025
- 2. Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025
- 3. Home Office
What Martyn's Law requires
The Act, which received Royal Assent in 2025, is named after Martyn Hett, one of the 22 people killed in the 2017 Manchester Arena attack. It introduces a tiered duty on those responsible for qualifying premises and events to be better prepared for a terrorist attack.
Standard-tier premises must have simple, low-cost procedures that could reduce harm: evacuation, invacuation (moving people to a safer place inside), lock-down and clear communication with staff and the public. Enhanced-tier premises and larger events must also put in place measures to reduce their vulnerability to an attack, and keep a document setting out how they comply.
Accounting for people during a response
Whether the right response is to evacuate or to move people to safety inside, the responsible person needs to know that staff are acting on the plan and that people have reached a safer place. In a busy hotel, venue or shopping centre, that is very hard to confirm by eye.
The Salvus Network gives staff a safety tag that is detected at Safety Detection Points across the site, so a duty manager sees a live count of which staff are clear and which are still in an affected area, and can log the whole response for later review.
Evidence, not assertion
A recurring theme across modern safety regulation is the shift from having a plan on paper to being able to show the plan works. Martyn's Law is no different: enhanced-tier duty holders must document their procedures, and any organisation will want to review its response after a drill or a real event.
An automatic, timestamped record of who was where, when a lock-down or evacuation was called, and how quickly people reached safety, turns a fire-drill-style exercise into demonstrable assurance for insurers, boards and the regulator.
The Salvus Safety Desk
HSE research & compliance team
The Salvus Safety Desk is our in-house health, safety and compliance team, drawing on frontline experience across COMAH, DSEAR and CDM sites to translate regulation into practical, real-time controls.
Frequently asked questions
Which premises are in scope of Martyn's Law?+
Qualifying public premises and events where 200 or more people may be present fall into the standard tier; those where 800 or more may be present fall into the enhanced tier with additional, documented duties. Exact scope and thresholds are set out in the Act and supporting guidance.
Does Martyn's Law require a specific technology?+
No. It requires appropriate, proportionate procedures to reduce harm. Technology that helps you move people to safety, account for staff and evidence your response supports those procedures but is not itself mandated.
When does Martyn's Law come into force?+
The Act received Royal Assent in 2025 with an implementation period before the duties take effect, giving responsible persons time to prepare. Organisations are expected to use that window to put procedures and training in place.
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