Ministers will move “at pace” to review the law on crossbow ownership, the security minister has said, after three women were killed in a suspected crossbow attack in Hertfordshire.
Dan Jarvis said it was “entirely reasonable” to question whether existing laws on the weapons were appropriate and that ministers would act decisively if they needed to be changed.
He said Yvette Cooper, the home secretary, was “very carefully” examining a call for evidence that was launched by the Home Office this year.
“These are clearly very serious and pressing matters,” Jarvis told BBC Breakfast. Asked about the suitability of the existing legislation, which allows people aged 18 and above to buy and own a crossbow without needing to register it or get a licence, he said: “I think that is an entirely reasonable challenge.”
He continued: “We’ll want to look very carefully at the legislation that’s in place at the moment and we’ll need to come to a conclusion sooner rather than later as to whether the current legislation is appropriate or not.
“If we decide that it isn’t … then we’ll need to make changes to the legislation. But we need to do this properly. There needs to be due process.”
The Guardian understands that Jess Phillips, the newly appointed minister responsible for tackling violence against women and girls, is assessing evidence for a possible tightening of rules around crossbow ownership for the Home Office.
As home secretary, Priti Patel ordered a review into crossbow controls in 2021 after Jaswant Singh Chail broke into Windsor Castle with one in an attempt to kill the queen. It was not until February this year that the Home Office opened a call for evidence on a possible tightening of rules around the weapons.
A Home Office source said Cooper had asked Phillips to sift through that evidence.
“Jess Phillips has asked for the consultation responses and will go through it as soon as possible,” the source said. “We want to make it harder to access dangerous weapons, but we don’t want the media focus to be taken from the wider issue around violence against women and girls. It is quite easy to latch on to banning the crossbow but this is part of a 10-year strategy for this government.”
Speaking on the BBC Radio 4 Today programme, Jarvis said the attack in Bushey, Hertfordshire was “devastating” and expressed his condolences for the victims’ family.
He said Cooper was “very concerned” about the current legislation. “She will want to look at the evidence that already has been collected and look at the circumstances not just of what happened yesterday but of other incidents as well.
“We are seized by the seriousness and the importance of this and I think you will be aware we have made a manifesto commitment to halve violence against women and girls in our country over a 10-year period.”
Jarvis added: “We will make a judgment as early as we are able as to whether the current legislative framework is appropriate and if it’s not we will change it, because nothing is more important than ensuring the safety of the public.”
Tributes have been paid to Carol Hunt and her two daughters, Hannah, 28, and Louise, 25, who were found seriously injured at a home in Bushey on Tuesday and died shortly after.
It emerged on Wednesday that they were the family of John Hunt, the BBC racing commentator.
Police believe the attack was targeted and carried out with a crossbow and potentially other weapons. They detained Kyle Clifford, 26, on Wednesday in connection with the incident and he remains in hospital with injuries.
Crossbows are subject to statutory controls under the Crossbows Act 1987, which makes it an offence to sell or loan one with a draw weight of 1.4kg (3.1lbs) or greater to under-18s in England, Wales and Scotland. Those under 18 are not permitted to buy or hire a crossbow either. Similar legislation exists in Northern Ireland.
The maximum penalty for the sale or loan of a crossbow to anyone under 18 is six months’ imprisonment or a fine. It is also unlawful to hunt with a crossbow under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.
Ch Supt Jon Simpson, from Hertfordshire police, told reporters the women were believed to have been killed in a targeted incident. No one else is being sought in connection with the investigation.
