Crossbows to be banned following triple murder of BBC commentator’s family

The government plans to ban the sale of crossbows and hunting arrows, as well as introduce a new licensing requirement for existing owners, after a series of violent attacks.

The Home Office has approved proposals aimed at tightening regulations on potentially lethal weapons.

The move follows the horrific murders of BBC racing commentator John Hunt’s wife and two daughters in July 2024.

Kyle Clifford, 26, was jailed for life for killing Louise Hunt, 25, her sister Hannah Hunt, 28, and their mother Carol Hunt, 61, in a crossbow and knife attack at their home in Bushey, Hertfordshire.

Currently, there is no registration system for crossbow ownership and no license is required, although they are available for purchase online.

While it is illegal for children to buy or own crossbows, and carrying a crossbow in public without a valid reason can lead to a four-year prison sentence, the lack of wider controls is a significant concern.

The government has previously promised to strengthen the rules, launching a consultation that revealed widespread public concern about the ease of affordability of crossbows. The new plans aim to address these critical vulnerabilities.

In a consultation response published on Thursday, the Home Office said: “The Government is concerned about how easily these weapons can now be purchased, and the use of these weapons in the murders at Bushey on 9 July 2024 and the crossbow attacks at Headingley on 26 April 2025, and other cases where crossbows have been used to commit murder and other serious crimes, has highlighted the need for greater checks on crossbows.

“The Government will therefore impose further restrictions on crossbows by introducing a licensing scheme for existing crossbow owners and we will consult on the details of the licensing scheme.

“The Government will also ban the sale of crossbows.

“We will consult on how best to implement such a ban and will set out further details during the consultation, but we anticipate that existing crossbow owners will be able to keep their crossbows provided they apply for a license and pass the necessary compliance checks that a licensing scheme would require.

“We also plan to ban broadhead arrows.”

Crossbow killings are generally rare, but there have been a number of incidents in recent years.

A review of the rules has been ordered following an attempt to gun down the late Queen.

Would-be assassin Jaswant Singh Chail was encouraged by an AI chatbot to enter Windsor Castle with a loaded crossbow to kill the late Queen on Christmas Day 2021.

The 21-year-old was sentenced to nine years in prison in 2023 and given a further five-year extended license after admitting treason, threatening to kill the then Queen and carrying a loaded crossbow.

Laura Sugden, who has been campaigning for changes to the law since her partner Shane Gilmer was killed in a crossbow attack in 2018, said she was “relieved and grateful” by the announcement and hoped the new rules would become known as “Shane’s Law”.

Mr Gilmer, 30, died after he broke into his next-door neighbour’s home in the East Yorkshire village of Southburn and shot both himself and Ms Sugden, seriously wounding her.

Ms Sugden said on Thursday: “We are relieved and grateful to see that new controls will be introduced and that the Government is committed to banning the sale of crossbows as well as licensing existing ones.

“We have argued for years that it is too easy for people to obtain these lethal weapons.

“Shane lost his life because of a system that failed to recognize the risks.”

He added: “It means a lot to know that we were instrumental in delivering this change.

“We firmly believe that any new legislation should be officially known as Shane’s Law, in memory of Shane.

“If this ban prevents even one family from experiencing what we experienced, then Shane’s legacy will be a legacy of preservation and change.”

In October last year, the public inquiry into the Southport attack heard that killer Axel Rudakubana contacted two archery dealers when he was 15 and asked if they could deliver crossbows in “discreet” packaging. This happened two years before he carried out the mass stabbing, killing six-year-old Bebe King, seven-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe and nine-year-old Alice da Silva Aguiar at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class.

Convicted stalker Bryce Hodgson was shot dead by police in 2024 after breaking into a London home armed with weapons including a crossbow.

A domestic homicide review has found the Metropolitan Police missed opportunities to protect Sana Mohammed from her ex-husband Ramanodge Unmathallegadoo in the years before he killed her with a crossbow while she was eight months pregnant.

A Government spokesman said the tougher rules were being introduced “so we can prevent serious harm before it happens”.

However, it is unclear when the changes will come into force.

“Crossbows are powerful and deadly weapons, and recent tragedies have shown how devastating damage they can do when misused.

“Our priority is to keep people safe,” he added.