On 24 February 2020, the Security Minister James Brokenshire announced plans to introduce a new law which will require owners and operators of public spaces to apply measures to keep the public safe from terrorist attacks.
Delivering the manifesto commitment, which aims to improve the safety and security of public venues and spaces, the new "Protect Duty" will reflect lessons learned following attacks, such as Manchester Arena in 2017, London Bridge in 2019 and Streatham this year.
The new law, which is aimed to be consulted on later in the spring, would require venue operators to consider the risk of a terrorist attack and take proportionate and reasonable measures to prepare for and protect the public from a terrorist attack. This could include increased physical security, having appropriate training in place, incident response plans and exercises for staff on what to do during such attack.
Brokenshire said: "Our first priority is keeping the public safe and preventing more families from suffering the heartbreak of losing a loved one".
"The devastating attacks [...] are stark reminders of the current threat we face. We are in complete agreement with campaigners such as Figen Murray on the importance of venues and public spaces having effective and proportionate protective security and preparedness measures to keep people safe".
However, Duncan Spencer, head of advice and practice at the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) believes that we "must be careful to balance emotion with rationality".
While the employers and operators already have the duty under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, where the safety of others affected by the undertaking is covered, Spencer notes that terrorism is not the undertaking of the venue. He said: "Terror is a criminal act and not to do with how work is conducted".
The article reports that most of the large public venues already have contingency plans that prepare for certain scenarios, but they deal with the aftermath of certain incidents, including terrorist attacks, where they have to manage the crowd out of the site and deal with the casualties before the emergency services arrive to take control of what becomes a crime scene.
Spencer also said for the IOSH magazine, that such controls cited by the campaign, including barriers, locks on doors and other extra measures, might not be preventative and may even fall foul of other regulations, such as fire escape measures. He said: "If a venue invites the public in, such controls would not stop an attack. Terrorists will still come and go, just as the public does. It is the duty of MI5 and the police to identify and prevent, not business".
The article brought an example of a betting shop where an employee was seriously injured in an attack. Spencer said: "There was some attempt to look at the application of sections 2 and 3 [of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974] by the authorities, but in the end the argument that it was a criminal act and not a safety concern prevailed. It is unreasonable for employers to be able to predict which customer is potentially violent or a terrorist".
