Keir Starmer asked me a few months ago: ‘What motivates you?’ I said, having my son’s ashes on a bookshelf is a good motivator. No parent should be in that place. 

The mother of Martyn Hett, who was killed in the Manchester Arena terrorist attack, has revealed how Conservative ministers dragged their feet as she campaigned to get better protection for the public from terrorist attacks.

Figen Murray told of her heartbreak, frustration, and hope as she sought justice for her son and the other victims and to try and make sure other people would not have to suffer the horror that she and others have been through.

Figen told her story to Philip Grindell, CEO and founder of the Defuse global threat and intelligence consultancy, in a new podcast.

She also recounted “frustrating” meetings with numerous Prime Ministers and security ministers as she campaigned to get improved security for people at shopping centres and entertainment venues.

In September, new Home Secretary Yvette Cooper announced the introduction of the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill to increase preparedness for terrorist attacks at public venues.

It will be known as “Martyn’s Law” in tribute to her son who was killed alongside 21 others in the 2017 atrocity.

She said after the attack, she discovered that there was no legal obligation for the authorities to keep people safe from terrorist attacks in public spaces, and turned to creating a public petition calling for a change.

Figen was then contacted by Brendan Cox, the husband of the MP Jo Cox who was murdered by a far-right terrorist, who suggested lobbying politicians directly.

She said: “It’s so difficult, UK politics. Politics has been, over the last few years, quite complex. I’m now on Prime Minister number five, since the beginning of it all, Security Minister number seven, possibly eight, and Home Secretary number four.

“Every time there’s yet another change, it sets us back a little bit, plus we had Covid, so there’s been quite a few delays but we carried on.

“What happened is the Home Office actually set up a department just to deal with Martyn’s Law and that’s the department we have been working with very closely over the last five years, five and a half years.

“I got a phone call of Rishi Sunak at home on 15 December 2022 which would have been Martin’s 35th birthday, and I said to him, ‘can you promise me that the legislation will be done by the seventh anniversary [of his death]’, which would have been last year, in May?

“And he said, ‘well, I’d love to do that, but I can’t promise you, because there are many stages still to go through’, the legislation.”

Figen decided to walk 200 miles to Number 10 in London to mark Martyn’s death and highlight the campaign.

“So he [Sunak] had no choice but to meet me and the meeting was okay, a bit non-committal and a bit business-like, but at least he met. James cleverly was there and they met us.

“And then shortly after, we met Keir Starmer and some of his ministers and it was a completely different meeting.”

He said some members of the Commons Home Affairs Committee seemed to be more concerned about potential costs to businesses than ensuring public safety.

The Act would require staff at public venues to undertake a one-hour online course and the cost, estimated at 50p per event, covered by the Government, she said.
Figen said the former Conservative MP Tim Loughton, a former children’s minister and chair of the committee, claimed terrorists would not bother targeting events at village halls, for example.

She said: “He then topped it off by the Daily Mail doing an interview with him, and said in that interview that actually, why would terrorists even be interested in going to villages and attacking the local yoga class or the local Women’s Institute meeting or a Slimming World group? That’s not an interesting enough target.

“And I’m thinking, ‘what are you talking about?’ Jo Cox was killed in a village and Sir David Amess was killed in a community centre. What on earth are you talking about? This is happening to real people.”

She added: “Keir Starmer asked me a few months ago, when I met him the first time, he said, ‘I know about your campaign, what motivates you?’

“I said, having my son’s ashes on a bookshelf is a good motivator. No parent should be in that place. He couldn’t really answer that.”