New platform turns Martyn’s Law compliance from a blank page into a finished plan in minutes
OAKHAM, Rutland – Tuesday 15th September – A crisis communications specialist who spent two decades reporting on terrorism before living through an attack himself has launched a new platform to help every school in the country meet the requirements of Martyn’s Law.
BridgePacks, built by LionbridgePR co-founders Ben and Sophie McCarthy, allows a school to answer a short set of questions about its own site and set-up, then generates the tailored plans required under the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025 in minutes rather than weeks.
The Act, which comes into force next year, requires organisations responsible for premises that can hold more than 200 people, including schools, to have plans in place for invacuation, evacuation, lockdown and communication in the event of a terrorist attack. It is named after Martyn Hett, who was killed in the Manchester Arena bombing in May 2017.
For Ben and Sophie, the law is personal as well as professional.
“Martyn’s Law is named after Martyn Hett, who died in the Manchester Arena attack,” said Ben McCarthy, co-founder of BridgePacks. “Our niece was there that night. She wasn’t hurt, but the father of her friend was seriously injured, and she saw things no teenager should ever have to see.
“For 20 years as a correspondent for Sky News ITN and BBC News, my job took me to conflict zones abroad and to the aftermath of terrorist attacks, including several in London and Manchester in the 1990s and the 9/11 attacks in New York in 2001. I saw first-hand what these events do to the people caught up in them.
“Then, on 7 July 2005, I was on the Edgware Road train when it was bombed. Six people were killed and more than 160 were injured. That was the day it stopped being something I reported on and became something that happened to me.
“That combination, seeing the aftermath as a journalist and living through an attack myself, is exactly why we built BridgePacks. We know what a clear, well-made plan means when the worst happens, and we know how hard it is to write one when crisis planning is not your job.”
Sophie McCarthy, co-founder of BridgePacks, said: “We have nearly two decades of experience writing and executing crisis plans, including for mass-fatality events, aviation accidents and major reputational crises. We have used all of that to build something schools can rely on, without needing to become crisis experts themselves.
“Martyn’s Law will save lives. That is why getting these plans right matters so much to us.”
The platform has already won praise from school business professionals who have used it.
Rona Metters, who runs school business networks across Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, said: “No more blank page. BridgePacks turns Martyn’s Law guidance into a clear checklist in minutes and takes the anxiety off the table.”
Jane Monaghan, School Business Manager at Hampton Hargate Primary School in Peterborough, said: “My first impression was very positive. Now, having had the opportunity to read through everything in detail, I am even more impressed. The documents are extremely thorough and cover all the key areas.” Her headteacher’s reaction on seeing the finished plan was simply: “Wow, where did you get all that from? It looks really good.”
While the Department for Education suggests schools can produce their Martyn’s Law documentation in-house, the work involved is considerable and can take several days to complete. BridgePacks produces tailored, ready-to-use documents for a school in a matter of minutes.
BridgePacks is available now at https://bridgepacks.lionbridgepr.com and costs £200 until the end of September (launch price) and £300 from the 1st October 2026.
