Why organisations need to start thinking about The Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025

Martyn's Law – The Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025 – received Royal Assent on 3 April 2025. Organisations will need to be able to demonstrate compliance with the Act by April 2027. Our recent article sets out what it covers. 

Why to consider this now: Although there is a two-year implementation period, there is good reason to start thinking now about the impact it will have on your organisation. This is because it may take time to map out existing measures, consider what further measures could or should be taken by organisations (on their own and in collaboration with their suppliers and others), identify and appoint suitable ‘responsible person(s)’, implement these measures, and then monitor their effectiveness. Further Guidance is expected to be issued during this implementation period, which will no doubt assist.

Basics of the Act: The new Act aims to improve security measures at premises and events where large crowds are anticipated, with the goal of mitigating the likelihood of injuries should a terrorist act occur. For "enhanced duty" premises and events, it also seeks to lower their overall vulnerability to terrorism. The Act introduces a tiered system, where the required actions vary based on the number of attendees and the nature of the premises or event. The Act only applies to certain types of “qualifying premises” or “qualifying events” (noting such events must be ones to which “members of the public will have access”).  Whether a particular premises or event qualifies depends on the number of people that might reasonably be expected to be present, and the nature of the activity undertaken, although certain types of premises are excluded. 

Need for careful consideration: Organisations will want to consider these definitions carefully as they are not entirely straightforward. For example, an event can only be a “qualifying event” if it can be accessed by members of the public. However, the threshold headcount of 800 individuals means the total headcount, not just the headcount of members of the public. So a primarily private event (for example, open to employees of an organisation) might nevertheless be a “qualifying event” if some members of the public are permitted to attend all or part of the event.  Organisations may want to start mapping out which of their premises, or particular events during the year, will fall within the scope of the Act based on these definitions.

Demonstrating compliance: Security measures required for “Standard Duty” premises include procedures for evacuation, moving individuals to safer areas, preventing entry/exit, and providing information during suspected terrorism. For “Enhanced Duty” premises/events additional measures include monitoring, controlling movement, ensuring physical safety, safeguarding information, and documenting compliance.  We anticipate that many large venues and experienced event organising entities will already have developed more mature processes and measures for address these requirements.  However, even they will want to map their existing measures against these (statutory legal) requirements to consider gaps and/or scope for improvements.  Others organisations will have less mature processes and measures, or may have to develop them from new.

Sanctions for non-compliance: This new Act has an extensive reach, to organisations operating in a wide range of sectors.  Now is a good time for organisations to start thinking about how they will implement its requirements. Penalties for non-compliance could in some cases result in restriction notices (limiting activities), fines up to £18 million or 5% of worldwide revenue, and daily penalties up to £50,000 for continued non-compliance.

If you would like to discuss how this subject might impact your business, please get in touch with our Health and Safety, Investigations and Inquiries team. 

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This article was written by Lloyd Nail and Charlotte Whitaker. Lloyd is a dispute resolution lawyer specialising in complex systems, decision-making and risk, often in high-pressure environments, with a particular focus on health & safety (in particular complex system failures) and procurement law (including procurement litigation).  

Charlotte is a partner in the Dispute Resolution team, advising on large scale health and safety investigations, inquests and public inquiries. She has particular expertise in advising clients at the incident response phase to multi-fatality health and safety incidents and has extensive experience in acting for clients in sensitive and high-profile inquests. 

Martyn’s Law will ensure that the public have additional protection from terrorist attacks while at events and public venues. We will continue to work with businesses and with the government to make sure premises have the support they need to prepare for the implementation of the act. - CTP Senior National Coordinator for Protect and Prepare, Jon Savell

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/landmark-anti-terror-legislation-gains-royal-assent