The Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill, also known as Martyn's Law is a proposed item of United Kingdom legislation introduced in the aftermath of the 2017 Manchester Arena bombing. It requires venues hosting large events (over 200 participants) to make plans and train staff for their response to any potential terrorist attacks. [1] [2] [3]
The bill was included in the King's speech at the 2024 State Opening of Parliament. [4] It was introduced to Parliament on 12 September 2024 and is expected to have its second reading on 14 October 2024. [5]
Martyn Hett, by whose name the legislation is known, was one of 22 people killed in the bombing, and his mother Figen Murray campaigned for this new law. [3]
This legislation had previously been included in the King's speech at the 2023 State Opening of Parliament in the previous parliament, [6] but had not been introduced by the time Parliament was suspended for the 2024 general election. [7] [8] Martyn Hett's mother walked 200 miles to London in May 2024 to meet the prime minister, Rishi Sunak, and reported that he "promised her he would introduce Martyn's Law to Parliament before the summer recess, but could not guarantee it would be passed before the next election"; hours later he called the general election, bringing a halt to parliamentary business. [9]
Civil partnership in the United Kingdom is a form of civil union between couples open to both same-sex couples and opposite-sex couples. It was introduced via the Civil Partnership Act 2004 by the Labour government. The Act initially permitted only same-sex couples to form civil partnerships, but the law was expanded to include opposite-sex couples in 2019.
Elizabeth Lydia Manningham-Buller, Baroness Manningham-Buller, is a retired British intelligence officer. She worked as a teacher for three years before joining MI5, the British internal Security Service. She led the newly created Irish counter-terrorism section from 1992 and then became director in charge of surveillance and technical operations. She became Director General of MI5 in October 2002 and, in that capacity, led the Security Service's response to the 7 July 2005 London bombings. Following her retirement in April 2007, she became a crossbench life peer in 2008.
The Terrorism Act 2006 is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that received royal assent on 30 March 2006, after being introduced on 12 October 2005. The Act creates new offences related to terrorism, and amends existing ones. The Act was drafted in the aftermath of the 7 July 2005 London bombings, and some of its terms have proven to be highly controversial. The government considered the act a necessary response to an unparalleled terrorist threat; it has encountered opposition from those who feel that it is an undue imposition on civil liberties, and could increase the terrorism risk.
A smoking ban in England, making it illegal to smoke in all enclosed workplaces in England, came into force on 1 July 2007 as a consequence of the Health Act 2006. Similar bans had already been introduced by the rest of the United Kingdom: in Scotland on 26 March 2006, Wales on 2 April 2007 and Northern Ireland on 30 April 2007. Plain tobacco packaging and a smoking ban in cars with passengers under 18 were introduced under Children and Families Act 2014.
Terrorism in Australia deals with terrorist acts in Australia as well as steps taken by the Australian government to counter the threat of terrorism. In 2004 the Australian government has identified transnational terrorism as also a threat to Australia and to Australian citizens overseas. Australia has experienced acts of modern terrorism since the 1960s, while the federal parliament, since the 1970s, has enacted legislation seeking to target terrorism.
The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act is an Indian law aimed at the prevention of unlawful activities associations in India. Its main objective was to make powers available for dealing with activities directed against the integrity and sovereignty of India. The most recent amendment of the law, the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment Act, 2019 has made it possible for the Union Government to designate individuals as terrorists without following any formal judicial process. UAPA is also known as the "Anti-terror law".
The Counter-Terrorism Act 2008 is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which increased police powers for the stated purpose of countering terrorism. The first reading of the bill was held in January 2008, and it received royal assent on 26 November 2008 following an episode of Parliamentary ping-pong on some of its most controversial issues.
Terrorism in the United Kingdom, according to the Home Office, poses a significant threat to the state. There have been various causes of terrorism in the UK. Before the 2000s, most attacks were linked to the Northern Ireland conflict. In the late 20th century there were also attacks by Islamic terrorist groups. Since 1970, there have been at least 3,395 terrorist-related deaths in the UK, the highest in western Europe. The vast majority of the deaths were linked to the Northern Ireland conflict and happened in Northern Ireland. In mainland Great Britain, there were 430 terrorist-related deaths between 1971 and 2001. Of these, 125 deaths were linked to the Northern Ireland conflict, and 305 deaths were linked to other causes, including 270 in the Lockerbie bombing. Since 2001, there have been almost 100 terrorist-related deaths in Great Britain.
CONTEST is the United Kingdom's counter-terrorism strategy, first developed by Sir David Omand and the Home Office in early 2003 as the immediate response to 9/11, and a revised version was made public in 2006. Further revisions were published on 24 March 2009, 11 July 2011 and June 2018. An Annual Report on the implementation of CONTEST was released in March 2010 and in April 2014. The aim of the strategy is "to reduce the risk to the UK and its interests overseas from terrorism so that people can go about their lives freely and with confidence." The success of this strategy is not linked to total elimination of the terrorist threat, but to reducing the threat sufficiently to allow the citizens a normal life free from fear.
The Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 (FTPA) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which, for the first time, set in legislation a default fixed election date for general elections in the United Kingdom. It remained in force until 2022, when it was repealed. Since then, as before its passage, elections are required by law to be held at least once every five years, but can be called earlier if the prime minister advises the monarch to exercise the royal prerogative to do so. Prime ministers have often employed this mechanism to call an election before the end of their five-year term, sometimes fairly early in it. Critics have said this gives an unfair advantage to the incumbent prime minister, allowing them to call a general election at a time that suits them electorally. While it was in force, the FTPA removed this longstanding power of the prime minister.
An Act of Senedd Cymru, or informally an Act of the Senedd, is primary legislation that can be made by the Senedd under part 4 of the Government of Wales Act 2006. Prior to 6 May 2020 any legislation was formally known as an Act of the National Assembly for Wales or informally, an Act of the Assembly.
David William Kinloch Anderson, Baron Anderson of Ipswich, is a British barrister and life peer, who was the Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation in the United Kingdom between 2011 and 2017. On 8 June 2018 it was announced that he would be introduced to the House of Lords as a cross-bench (non-party) working peer. On the same day he was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE), for services to national security and civil liberties, in the Queen's 2018 Birthday Honours.
The Manchester Arena bombing, or Manchester Arena attack, was an Islamic terrorist suicide bombing of the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England, on 22 May 2017, following a concert by American pop singer Ariana Grande. Perpetrated by Islamic extremist Salman Abedi and aided by his brother, Hashem Abedi, the bombing occurred at 10:31 p.m. and killed 22 people, injured 1,017, and destroyed the arena's foyer. It was the deadliest act of terrorism and the first suicide bombing in the United Kingdom since the 7 July 2005 London bombings.
The reactions to the Manchester Arena bombing, which occurred on 22 May 2017, include the responses by political and religious leaders, media and the general public, both within the United Kingdom, where the Manchester Arena bombing took place, and from other nations and international organisations. Numerous notable establishments around the world also held memorials.
The Criminal Justice Act 1998 is a law passed in the United Kingdom, which came into force on 4 September 1998. It stipulated that it is an offense to participate in a conspiracy to carry out a course of conduct that leads to an offense in another jurisdiction. It gave courts in England and Wales the authority to try conspiracies to commit offences abroad. The law also provided stricter punishment for being a member of a terror group. Parts of it were replaced by the Terrorism Act 2000 and the Proceeds of Crime Act passed in 2002.
On 2 February 2020, two people were stabbed in Streatham, London in what police termed a terrorist incident. The attacker, Sudesh Amman, was shot dead by the police. A nearby woman was slightly injured by broken glass as a result. At the time Amman was under active counter-terrorism surveillance, after having recently being released from prison on licence; he had been convicted in 2018 for disseminating terrorist material. Following the attack, the British government introduced the Terrorist Offenders Bill, a piece of emergency legislation intended to prevent those convicted of terrorist offences from being released early from prison; this bill was approved by Parliament and came into force by the end of the month.
The Terrorist Offenders Act 2020 is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that makes legal provision for ending the practice of releasing individuals convicted of terrorism offences from prison after they have served half of their custodial sentence. The original bill was introduced on 11 February 2020, a week after the Streatham stabbing in south London, the perpetrator of which had been released from prison ten days before the incident. The legislation applies to those convicted of terrorism offences in England, Scotland and Wales. On 12 February, the bill was introduced as emergency legislation, and cleared all of the stages required for it to pass through the House of Commons on the same day, doing so without the need for a vote. On 26 February, the act received assent and went into effect, immediately preventing the automatic release of 50 convicted terrorists.
The Strikes Act 2023 is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom affecting UK labour law designed to force trade union workers in England, Scotland and Wales to provide a minimum service during a strike in health, education services, fire and rescue, border security, transport and nuclear decommissioning. The law has been criticised as being not in the 2019 Conservative Party manifesto, being a violation of human rights, and being a violation of international law.
A State Opening of the Parliament of the United Kingdom took place on 7 November 2023 when King Charles III opened the fourth session of the Parliament elected in 2019, which was the last before the 2024 general election. Charles III delivered the King's Speech, his first as monarch, and set out the UK government's legislative programme for the following parliamentary session.
A State Opening of the Parliament of the United Kingdom took place on 17 July 2024 when King Charles III opened the first session of the Parliament elected in 2024, which was the first after the 2024 general election. Charles III delivered the King's Speech, his second as monarch, and the first since returning to his public duties after receiving treatment for cancer earlier in the year. The King set out the UK government's legislative programme for the following parliamentary session.