Families want party pledges on 'terror attack' laws

Proposed legislation to tighten public security is named after Manchester Arena bomb victim Martyn Hett

Campaigners have demanded electoral pledges from political parties on new laws to prevent terror attacks and to care for survivors.

A letter, published by support network Survivors Against Terror (SAT), said the government had "missed opportunities" to improve security at public venues by progressing reforms known as Martyn's Law.

The group also demanded commitments to enact a Survivor's Charter, which would include rights to compensation and mental health support.

The letter was signed by survivors and families affected by more than 20 attacks.

Gary Furlong, whose son James was murdered in Reading, said a lack of security and support for bereaved families was "not good enough"

They include those at Fishmongers Hall, London Bridge, the Manchester Arena, Reading, Westminster Bridge and Tunisia.

The new laws were promised by the government following the Fishmonger's Hall attack in 2019, SAT said.

It wrote: "In the almost five years since, neither of those promises have been kept - we are no safer and no better supported than we were five years ago.

"Public venues remain at heightened risk of attack, survivors languish on waiting lists for mental health support and seriously injured people are still waiting for compensation."

Martyn's Law is named after Martyn Hett, who was one of 22 people murdered in a suicide bombing at the end of an Ariana Grande concert at Manchester Arena in 2017.

Brendan Cox, the widower of  murdered MP Jo Cox , said the plight of survivors "should shame us all"

His mother, Figen Murray, said Prime Minister Rishi Sunak told her at a meeting in May that legislation was imminent, hours before he called the general election which led to parliament being dissolved.

She said: "My hopes have been raised and disappointed so many times - even on the day the election was called.

"This should be an issue that our parties agree on - not an area of systematic neglect."

Gary Furlong, whose son James was one of three friends stabbed and killed in Reading's Forbury Gardens in 2020, said politicians vow to "do everything they can to keep us safe and that survivors and bereaved families will be looked after".

He said: "Before this happened to my family I thought that was true - but I now know it's not. And that's simply not good enough."

Brendan Cox, the widower of murdered MP Jo Cox, said: "Too many survivors are left languishing without basic mental health support, compensation or even recognition of their pain.

"It should shame us all."

Last week Labour joined the Conservatives in promising to bring in Martyn's Law, which the government consulted on earlier this year.

The Liberal Democrats said Martyn's Law and the Survivor's Charter were "vitally important".

The Green Party and Reform have been approached for comment.