Manchester’s leaders have been urged to further honour the 22 victims of the Arena attack by introducing mandatory bag searches at all public venues.
Campaigner Figen Murray, who lost her son Martyn Hett in the 2017 bombings, this morning (Wednesday) told councillors why the move was so urgently needed.
The town hall's response in the wake of the atrocity had already been 'like angel's wings' for grieving relatives, she said, but said Manchester should now 'lead the way' in also backing her call for stricter security rules.
This morning, the Manchester Evening News Plea of Manchester bombing victim's mum: 'My son went to a gig and never came home - please help me protect others', urging people across the region - and the country - to sign her petition to the government.
It has so far amassed 16,600 signatures.
Figen spoke at the latest meeting of Manchester councillors, at which M.E.N. editor-in-chief Darren Thwaites also presented a special award honouring the city’s response to the bombings.
Ahead of next week’s anniversary, he said the gong - originally unveiled at last week’s inaugural Pride of Manchester awards - was in tribute to the bravery and spirit with which Greater Manchester responded to the bombing.
Next week will mark two years since the horrific attack at Manchester Arena, which claimed the lives of 22 people and left many others seriously physically and psychologically injured.
Figen’s son Martyn, 29, was one of them. She now hopes her campaign can become his legacy.
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“We lost our son Martyn at the concert in May 2017,” she told councillors.
“So I naively assumed, since the attack, that public venues would be really keen to put additional security measures in place.
“To my complete and utter surprise, I realised this was not necessarily the case. I was totally horrified, frankly.”
She and her husband had been particularly struck, during a trip to a Manchester theatre, to find very lax security, she added.
Since then she has discovered ‘huge discrepancies' in safety standards at major venues up and down the country.
“As a result of this I decided to launch a government petition for Martyn’s law to be introduced,” she said.
“I’m asking the government introduce mandatory bag searches - and I mean proper ones not just checking if there’s crisps and water in the back - and metal detectors to make sure public safety can be improved.”
Figen has been meeting with counter-terror experts and other relevant organisations, learning about the subject, to ensure her petition is well thought-out.
Martyn’s Law would be the family’s ‘legacy’ to her son, she said, although she has also spoken to other bereaved relatives to ensure they support the idea.
Describing the support provided by the council immediately after the bombing, through its emergency planning for the city, as being like ‘angel’s wings’, she added: “I feel Manchester could significantly honour the 22 people who were murdered by leading the way and setting an excellent example by initiating Martyn’s Law here on its own doorstep.
“Manchester’s response has already been hailed a success - and quite rightly so - in terms of supporting people.
“If we could turn Manchester into one of the safest cities in the UK, particularly in view of what happened. Hopefully other cities will follow suit and put measures in place which reflect the changing threats which we all now face.”
Council leader Sir Richard Leese thanked Figen for addressing councillors and said they would now sit down to talk discuss the issue with her - and other families and victims - in more detail.
He stressed the town hall took public safety ‘very seriously’, pointing to the barriers installed around public spaces such as Albert Square in recent years, before adding: “Thank you very much for raising this with us.”
It is understood that the council will need to consider how far it can go under existing licensing laws without the government changing legislation.
Figen’s petition calls directly on the government to do so. More than 4,000 people have added their signatures over the last 24 hours. You can sign it here.
M.E.N. editor-in-chief Darren Thwaites also officially presented the city’s Spirit of Manchester award to the town hall, a gong in honour of the millions here who responded with bravery, compassion and humanity following the attack.
Describing it as a ‘great privilege’ to present, he added: “This award is shared by the 2.5m people who call Greater Manchester home and all did their bit to ensure that the unique spirit that makes this the finest city on earth was not extinguished by the bomb, but shines brighter than ever in spite of it.
"This award is for the spirit of Manchester.”
After expressing thanks for the award, Sir Richard said it would eventually be displayed in a refurbished town hall, but in the meantime will rotate around libraries and community centres across Greater Manchestser.
