What are the laws on crossbows and will the new government change them?

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper is now urgently considering whether tougher crossbow laws are needed following the attack, as Political Correspondent Harry Horton reports

The home secretary is urgently considering toughening up laws on crossbows in the wake of the murder of a mother and two of her daughters in Bushey on Tuesday.

Carol Hunt, 61, wife of BBC racing commentator John Hunt, and two of their daughters Hannah, 28, and Louise, 25, were killed with what the police believe was a crossbow, as well as possibly other weapons.

The triple murder suspect Kyle Clifford, 26, was found by police in a cemetery after a manhunt, and is now in hospital.

Unlike with guns, adults in the UK do not need a license to own a crossbow - which has prompted calls for tougher rules on the weapons.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper is urgently looking at the findings of a review into the laws carried out last week, and considering "whether further controls on crossbows should be introduced."

So what are the laws on crossbows and what might the new government do to change them? ITV News explains.

What is a crossbow?

A crossbow is a weapon that originated in the Middle Ages - featuring arrow-like missiles called bolts or quarrels.

They're fired from a bow-like assembly called a prod, which is mounted onto the main frame known as a tiller.

What are the current laws on crossbows?

The Crossbows Act 1987 makes it illegal to sell, hire or possess a crossbow if you are under 18 in England, Wales or Scotland

The maximum penalty for the sale or hire of a crossbow is six months' imprisonment or a fine.

Having a crossbow in public "without a reasonable excuse" could also lead to a prison sentence.

But there isn't any requirement for someone who owns a crossbow to register it and have a license - unlike the rules around guns.

That means authorities do not know how many crossbows are in circulation in England, Wales and Scotland.

In 2022, the previous government under Rishi Sunak ordered a call for evidence about whether further controls on crossbow ownership should be introduced.

Home Office figures show between 2011-2021 there were fewer than 10 homicides by crossbow, but there have been a number of high profile attacks in recent years.

In December 2022, 51-year-old Dave Peck was killed with a crossbow at a pub just before Christmas.

The Christmas before that, Jaswant Singh Chail threatened to kill the queen after breaking into the grounds of Windsor Castle with a loaded crossbow. He was sentenced to nine years in custody late last year.

What might the new government do?

The home secretary is looking urgently at the review commissioned by the previous government, and whether the law needs to be "tightened".

Yvette Cooper will “take a view in the near future” on whether tougher crossbow laws are needed in the wake of the killings, the security minister said, as the home secretary considers the change.

Security Minister Dan Jarvis told Sky News: “I know that the Home Secretary is looking at this literally as we speak. There was a call for evidence that was initiated a number of months ago. She will want to consider that evidence in the round.

“She’ll want to look clearly, very carefully at what happened yesterday – devastating events – and she will take a view in the near future.”

A Home Office spokeswoman said: “We keep legislation under constant review and a call for evidence was launched earlier this year to look at whether further controls on crossbows should be introduced.

“The Home Secretary will swiftly consider the findings to see if laws need to be tightened further.”

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