Martyn’s Law in King’s Speech: a tribute to Martyn Hett and his mum’s campaign

Among the 22 people killed in the 2017 Manchester Arena bombing was one of our own – Martyn Hett, who worked for Rumpus PR, in Altrincham, Greater Manchester. 

In our profession, we are often called upon when a crisis takes place and we will have trained and rehearsed numerous times to ensure we hit the ground running when/if that time comes. 

But none of us can imagine or would like to rehearse how we would respond if the crisis affected us directly and personally. 

Last year, some of my North-West CIPR Committee members and I had the pleasure to meet Figen Murray, Martyn’s mum at our PRide Awards, where we presented Figen with our Special Recognition Award for her tireless public campaigning and commitment to encouraging peace, kindness and tolerance in memory of her son.

This subsequently led to lobbying the government to introduce Martyn’s Law – known as the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill – so that venues are better prepared for acts of terrorism. 

In a recent interview with us, Figen said: “To be given an award from an industry that Martyn loved was just incredible, so lovely and really humbling.”

“I have thrown my life into Martyn’s Law. I work from 9am to 6.30pm, every day, travelling up and down the country. I won’t give up.”

Broken promises

Tired of broken promises and pledges, on the seventh anniversary of the attack, Figen embarked on a 200-mile, half-a-million steps walk from the place where Martyn died to the door of 10 Downing Street.

Here she briefly met Rishi Sunak. He had called her 18 months previously, on what would have been Martyn’s 35th birthday, to say that he remained committed to making the law happen.

“He said [when they met in Downing Street] he was still committed but he couldn’t give me an indication of a timescale. Three hours later, he walked out in front of Number 10 and told everyone there would be a general election …”

“While I was in London, I also met with Sir Keir Starmer and he told me that he would make it one of his top priorities.

“He said it had gone on too long and, if he is elected, he would introduce the legislation into parliament before summer recess.

“And then, after summer recess, he prioritised the legislation as a matter of urgency. I believe him.”

Since then, we now have a new prime minister who wrote to Figen recently to assure her of his commitment he made when they met.

And today's King's Speech included the announcement that the government intends to introduce measures to improve the safety and security of public venues to "keep the British public safe from terrorism".

Martyn was ‘one in a million’

Martyn Hett is remembered by all who met him as a one-of-a-kind, energetic, flamboyant character, and a ‘people magnet’ who cared for everyone he met.

From his Deirdre Barlow tattoo to his star appearance on Come Dine With Me, to putting his heart and soul into his PR job, Martyn was relishing life.

Gareth Clements, Martyn’s former boss at Rumpus PR said he was “one in a million. Martyn had it all covered in life, whatever he did he gave it his all, a passionate individual who rinsed so much out of life.” 

This was echoed by one of his clients, former KidsCan trustee Elaine Simons, “I was immediately electrified by his energy and ideas and can only say that for me this was one of the most enjoyable and productive business relationships.

“Martyn was responsible for a photo shoot with a young cancer survivor for one of our campaigns. He immediately put this lovely girl completely at ease and the whole afternoon was full of joy and laughter. I will never forget it.”

In our work, it can be a struggle to maintain our mental strength and keep things together for everyone else around us when crises occur, no matter how much rehearsing and training we’ve had. But if there’s one thing I have taken from meeting and following Figen’s journey, and getting to know what Martyn was like, is a wonderful reminder of how relatability, compassion and authenticity can be so powerful to convey our messages amongst those we need to influence, and in some cases motivate to take action. 

Gareth also spoke of Martyn’s “ability to switch up the energy in an instant, in such a positive way, irrespective of the office mood”, often using his personal brand and encouraging others to advocate for the good causes he represented. Exemplifying how who we are can often become an asset in our professional work, and benefit the communities and organisations we serve with our communications. 

I think we could all #BeMoreMartyn and in his memory continue to encourage others to lead with compassion and authenticity in our work. Imagine how life would be if we did.

Sali Midjek-Conway is the chair of CIPR North West.

• How should PR practitioners approach Wednesday’s King’s Speech?