Venues to get life-saving kits in anti-terror scheme

Life-saving first aid kits are to be given to licensed venues and hotels as part of a council scheme based on recommendations from the inquiry into the 2017 Manchester Arena bombing.

The PACT (Public Access Trauma) kits will provide equipment such as dressings, tourniquets and bandages for people seriously injured as a result of similar atrocities.

Venue staff will also receive specialist training under the plans, Manchester City Council said.

One hundred kits will be given to venues in the city centre, with a further 73 rolled out in hotels as part of a partnership between the council and CityCo, which runs Manchester City BID, and Steroplast, a medical supplier.

Councillor Lee-Ann Igbon, executive member for vibrant neighbourhoods, said the kits "will empower anyone with the skills to save a life".

“Any loss of life is a tragedy," she said.

"This is why we are taking proactive steps to ensure that no one in Manchester dies because help may be too far away."

She said a small number of licensed premises already had the kits but the council wanted to provide "greater coverage".

“We cannot replicate the incredible skill of our paramedics and first responders, but we can empower people by providing the skills to turn them into everyday lifesavers," she added.

The roll-out comes after Figen Murray, whose son Martyn Hett was killed in the Manchester attack, campaigned for them.

Martyn was among the 22 people killed when suicide bomber Salman Abedi detonated a homemade device at an Ariana Grande concert.

Ms Murray has been campaigning for legislation, known as Martyn's Law, since the Manchester Arena Inquiry concluded in 2023, and highlighted a "care gap" in the speed first aid responders can arrive.

The proposed law would require venues and local authorities to have preventative plans in place against terror attacks.

Chairman of the inquiry Sir John Saunders said at the time that there was an "ongoing problem" of "making sure that recommendations from inquiries are implemented and not forgotten".

Ms Hett recently walked 200 miles from Manchester to London to meet previous prime minister Rishi Sunak on the seventh anniversary of the bombing, to push for Martyn's Law to be passed.

Her legislation was included in the recent King’s Speech, and Ms Hett is continuing to campaign for its introduction in the next Parliament.

Listen to the best of BBC Radio Manchester on Sounds and follow BBC Manchester on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas to [email protected]