Prepare for Martyn's Law (Terrorism of Premises) Act 2025

Martyn’s Law: What Your Organisation Needs to Know

Communication is the fourth public protection procedure — and the one the other three depend on. The statutory guidance is now published, so what preparedness looks like is no longer in question.

01 — What is Martyn's Law?

Martyn’s Law is now law, and the preparation window is open.

Martyn’s Law, officially the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025, introduces a new legal duty for organisations to assess terrorism risks, strengthen preparedness and implement effective measures to protect people during terror attacks.

Whether your premises welcome hundreds or thousands of people, Martyn’s Law makes it clear: preparation saves lives.

02 — What the guidance actually says

Three procedures. One way to start them.

Evacuation, invacuation and lockdown are different responses to different threats — and they can look identical to a visitor until someone says which one is happening.

Quotations are from the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025: Statutory Guidance (Home Office, 15 April 2026), reproduced under the Open Government Licence. Highlighting is ours. Read the full guidance on GOV.UK.

Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025 Statutory Guidance: Section 7

Evacuation “The process of getting people away from danger by moving them out of the premises or event (or part of the premises or event).
Invacuation “The process of moving people away from danger to a place within the premises or event where there is less risk of physical harm being caused to them.”
Lockdown “The process of securing the premises or event to prevent individuals entering or leaving (for example, to restrict or prevent the movement of an attacker by locking doors, closing shutters or using available barriers).”
Communication “The process of ensuring information is provided to individuals at the premises or event (for example, alerting people to danger as quickly as possible and providing instructions to remain in place or move away, where it is safe to do so).”

“The purpose of an evacuation procedure is to get people away from danger by moving them out of the premises or event, or a part of the premises or event. In developing an evacuation procedure, the responsible person should consider how plans will vary according to the specific circumstances of their qualifying premises or qualifying event.

The below considerations are not exhaustive, but those responsible should also consider:

whether the attack is taking place inside or outside the premises
how people will be directed to follow the evacuation procedure in response to an attack how staff at the
premises or event will direct people to move away from danger”

“In addition to the considerations at paras. 7.20 to 7.32, when developing an evacuation procedure, the responsible person should consider:

How evacuation plans for terrorist attacks complement, and do not conflict with, the evacuation plans for fire emergencies. This includes how an evacuation procedure for a terrorist attack would be communicated to people. For example, where possible, evacuation plans for terrorist attacks should avoid using the normal fire alarm on the basis that people may respond inappropriately to the threat.
Whether it is safer for people to move away from the premises, the event and the immediate vicinity instead of gathering in a specific place nearby. Dispersal from the premises is likely to be the most appropriate action”

“The purpose of a communication procedure is to ensure information is provided to people at the premises or event, alerting them to danger as quickly as possible if an attack is taking place.”

“Effective communication with those on the premises or at the event is essential to enable the other procedures to be started quickly, reducing the risk of harm to people.

Communication can take many forms, including verbal communication, signage, posters, briefings and audio broadcasts.

Communication could include a range of messaging such as to move inside and stay away from windows, to move to a designated safer space or safe exit route, to move to the back of the building to wait for further instructions, or simply to get down, stay quiet and stay hidden. This information should be shared quickly.”

“In addition to the considerations at paras. 7.20 to 7.32, when developing a communication procedure, the responsible person should consider:

• Information should be simple and clear to ensure any instructions are easy to understand and should be specific to the actions required to follow the relevant procedure.
• How to quickly share information in the way that works best for the premises or event.”

“When developing a communication procedure, the responsible person for larger and more complex premises or qualifying events should also consider:

Where people may be located when information is communicated and whether information will reach them effectively in those areas.
How each procedure will be communicated effectively. For example, the instructions communicated for an evacuation procedure should be different to the instructions communicated for a lockdown procedure.”

03 — Where the law stands

The guidance landed. The clock is now real.

Through 2025 the honest answer was “we’re waiting on guidance”. That answer has expired. Government, the regulator and sector bodies all now expect organisations to be moving toward readiness during the implementation window rather than at the end of it.

3 Apr 2025

Royal Assent

The Act passes, following campaigning by Figen Murray OBE in memory of her son Martyn Hett.

15 Apr 2026

Section 27 statutory guidance published

The Home Office sets out, in detail, what the four procedures and four measures mean in practice. Communication is defined as ensuring information reaches individuals at the premises.

Apr-Jun 2026

SIA consults on enforcement

The regulator’s draft section 12 guidance — how it will inspect, support and penalise — went out to consultation, closing 12 June. Core provisions commenced 15 June.

Autumn 2026

Final SIA guidance due

The SIA publishes final section 12 guidance and its consultation report. Regional inspection teams and the notification portal are being stood up now.

Spring 2027

Expected commencement

Duties expected to apply, with the exact date to be confirmed. Systems ordered in 2027 will be competing for the same installation slots.

Dates reflect published Government and SIA announcements at the time of writing. Always read the current GOV.UK and ProtectUK guidance.

04 — Communication requirements

What the guidance expects, and what we put in place.

Counter Terrorism Policing and the National Protective Security Authority set out four expectations for emergency announcements. Read across.

The expectation

Clear, consistent and unambiguous announcements

How Audiebant supports it

Crystal-clear, AI-enhanced announcements triggered by any authorised user. An audio-first approach with AI voice and text-to-speech gives correct pronunciation and intelligibility, the same way every time — no reading a script over a panicking crowd.

The expectation

Accessible to everyone present, including disabled people

How Audiebant supports it

Audiescreen and Audiesafe show the message visually on smart boards, laptops, desktops and digital signage, and mobile phones alongside the audio — reaching people who are deaf or hard of hearing, wearing headphones, or standing in a high-noise area.

The expectation

Real-time information to the public and first responders

How Audiebant supports it

Live or scheduled messages per scenario from the central portal, emergency buttons, quick-click wearables and the mobile app.

The expectation

Staff trained and confident using the system

How Audiebant supports it

Our team supports setup, onboarding and ongoing use. Using the same system for daily announcements — bells, shift changes, site notices — keeps authorised users fluent in the tool they will need under pressure, and returns value every day.