Several MPs and a women’s charity in Britain have called for a public inquiry into how David Fuller was able to commit sex attacks against at least 78 victims in mortuaries over more than a decade.

Greg Clark, MP for Tunbridge Wells, where Fuller committed many of his mortuary crimes and two murders in 1987, told the PA news agency an investigation into whether national policy was “stringent enough” is “the very least” the UK government needs to do to give grieving families closure. The Centre for Women’s Justice joined calls for the inquiry.

Fuller (67) pleaded guilty on Thursday to murdering Wendy Knell (25) and Caroline Pierce (20) in separate attacks in Tunbridge Wells, Kent.

He had previously admitted to 51 other offences, including 44 charges relating to 78 identified victims in mortuaries where he worked as an electrician.  An independent review at the trust where Fuller worked is under way, but MPs are calling for a wider national review about how he was able to carry out the attacks for so long, Mr Clark said.

He said: “It is beyond the resources and capability of a local NHS trust. The questions raised by this case include local ones about how this was allowed happen.

“But there are also national ones as to whether national policy was good enough, was stringent enough, and whether it could have happened in other hospitals across the country.”

He added: “I think it’s very important for the families.”

Mr Clark said that Conservative party colleagues including Tom Tugendhat, Nus Ghani, Tracey Crouch, Helen Grant, Helen Whately, Laura Trott and Huw Merriman are also demanding a public inquiry, and Downing Street did not rule the possibility out yesterday.

A spokesman for British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: “We’re not ruling it out, but we need to let the investigations that are already under way take place.”

Kent Police said it has received around 80 calls to a helpline, after it emerged  all mortuary victims may not have been identified.