Speaking to GB News, Matt Turmaine said he has asked Yvette Cooper to take action in the wake of the deaths of Carol Hunt, 61, who was married to the racing presenter John Hunt, and two of their daughters Louise, 25, and Hannah, 28, on Tuesday evening.

Kyle Clifford, 26, was wanted in connection with the triple murder, in which he is believed to have used a crossbow, before police found him injured in Lavender Hill Cemetery in Enfield, north London, yesterday afternoon (July 10).

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The Labour MP said: “I think that we do need to understand a little more about the details around it.

“Today, I've written to Yvette Cooper, the Home Secretary, to say, 'do we need to look more urgently at what's going on with crossbows and the use in crimes like this'?

“It is absolutely part of the agenda that has been put forward prior to the general election in terms of what we would do afterwards, if we won it.

Kyle Clifford. (Image: Herts Police)

“I'm hoping that that's going to be looked at very urgently.”

Mrs Cooper has confirmed she will make looking at the findings of a Home Office review carried out earlier this year a priority.

The previous government looked at bringing in firearms licensing-style rules in the wake of an attempt to kill the late Queen with a crossbow.

There is currently no registration system for owning a crossbow, no requirement for a licence and they appear to be readily available to buy online.

(Left)Hannah Hunt. (right) Louise Hunt. Inset: John and Carol Hunt pictured in 2015. (Image: Facebook/Hannah Hunt, Louise Hunt, Carol Hunt)

But it is illegal for anyone under 18 to buy or own one, with anyone carrying a crossbow in public without a reasonable excuse facing up to four years behind bars.

Plans for crossbow owners to face police checks were mooted as part of efforts to “step up action to prevent violence on our streets”, the Home Office said earlier this year.

It completed the work in April but the General Election being called stalled any further progress until now.

Ms Cooper, who was appointed as Home Secretary last week after Labour’s election victory, is understood to have been supportive of the move during her time in opposition.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper will look at the findings of a Home Office review carried out earlier this year. (Image: PA)

A Home Office spokeswoman said: “This is an appalling incident and the Home Secretary is being kept updated by the police.

“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.”

The department launched an eight-week consultation in February to see if there should be a licensing system to control the use, ownership and supply of crossbows, with anyone looking to buy one facing police checks – similar to regulations already in place for firearms.

The killings took place in Ashlyn Close, in an area of Bushey that falls within the Watford parliamentary constituency following recent boundary changes.

Watford MP Matt Turmaine on GB News. (Image: GB News)

Mr Turmaine added: “It's an absolutely tragic and horrific incident to have taken place. This is a residential part of Hertfordshire. This is not the kind of place that you expect to see a crime of this nature taking place.

“You would just absolutely not expect to see it. The community is absolutely devastated by this. Fortunately, of course, the suspected perpetrator has now been caught by the police. So that fear that existed, that he was still at large is now, is now come to an end.

“But the impact on the community will be felt for a very long time.”