diff --git a/packages/govuk-frontend-review/src/views/examples/exit-this-page-with-skiplink/index.njk b/packages/govuk-frontend-review/src/views/examples/exit-this-page-with-skiplink/index.njk
index 898d54a3fe..419c2a6e57 100644
--- a/packages/govuk-frontend-review/src/views/examples/exit-this-page-with-skiplink/index.njk
+++ b/packages/govuk-frontend-review/src/views/examples/exit-this-page-with-skiplink/index.njk
@@ -20,3 +20,19 @@
     redirectUrl: "https://www.gov.uk/"
   }) }}
 {% endblock %}
+
+{% block bodyEnd %}
+  <script type="module" src="/javascripts/govuk-frontend.min.js"></script>
+  <script type="module">
+    import { ExitThisPage, SkipLink } from '/javascripts/govuk-frontend.min.js'
+
+    const $skipLinks = document.querySelectorAll('[data-module="govuk-skip-link"]')
+    const $exitThisPage = document.querySelector('[data-module="govuk-exit-this-page"]')
+
+    $skipLinks.forEach(($skipLink) => {
+      new SkipLink($skipLink)
+    })
+
+    new ExitThisPage($exitThisPage)
+  </script>
+{% endblock %}
diff --git a/packages/govuk-frontend/src/govuk/components/skip-link/skip-link.mjs b/packages/govuk-frontend/src/govuk/components/skip-link/skip-link.mjs
index fbac41f9a9..c81f2e8eab 100644
--- a/packages/govuk-frontend/src/govuk/components/skip-link/skip-link.mjs
+++ b/packages/govuk-frontend/src/govuk/components/skip-link/skip-link.mjs
@@ -36,24 +36,42 @@ export class SkipLink extends GOVUKFrontendComponent {
     }
 
     this.$module = $module
-    this.$linkedElement = this.getLinkedElement()
 
-    this.$module.addEventListener('click', () => this.focusLinkedElement())
-  }
+    const hash = this.$module.hash
+    const href = this.$module.getAttribute('href') ?? ''
+
+    /** @type {URL | undefined} */
+    let url
+
+    /**
+     * Check for valid link URL
+     *
+     * {@link https://caniuse.com/url}
+     * {@link https://url.spec.whatwg.org}
+     *
+     */
+    try {
+      url = new window.URL(this.$module.href)
+    } catch (error) {
+      throw new ElementError(
+        `Skip link: Target link (\`href="${href}"\`) is invalid`
+      )
+    }
 
-  /**
-   * Get linked element
-   *
-   * @private
-   * @returns {HTMLElement} $linkedElement - Target of the skip link
-   */
-  getLinkedElement() {
-    const linkedElementId = getFragmentFromUrl(this.$module.hash)
+    // Return early for external URLs or links to other pages
+    if (
+      url.origin !== window.location.origin ||
+      url.pathname !== window.location.pathname
+    ) {
+      return
+    }
+
+    const linkedElementId = getFragmentFromUrl(hash)
 
-    // Check for link hash fragment
+    // Check link path matching current page
     if (!linkedElementId) {
       throw new ElementError(
-        'Skip link: Root element (`$module`) attribute (`href`) has no URL fragment'
+        `Skip link: Target link (\`href="${href}"\`) has no hash fragment`
       )
     }
 
@@ -68,7 +86,9 @@ export class SkipLink extends GOVUKFrontendComponent {
       })
     }
 
-    return $linkedElement
+    this.$linkedElement = $linkedElement
+
+    this.$module.addEventListener('click', () => this.focusLinkedElement())
   }
 
   /**
@@ -79,6 +99,10 @@ export class SkipLink extends GOVUKFrontendComponent {
    * @private
    */
   focusLinkedElement() {
+    if (!this.$linkedElement) {
+      return
+    }
+
     if (!this.$linkedElement.getAttribute('tabindex')) {
       // Set the element tabindex to -1 so it can be focused with JavaScript.
       this.$linkedElement.setAttribute('tabindex', '-1')
@@ -107,6 +131,10 @@ export class SkipLink extends GOVUKFrontendComponent {
    * @private
    */
   removeFocusProperties() {
+    if (!this.$linkedElement) {
+      return
+    }
+
     this.$linkedElement.removeAttribute('tabindex')
     this.$linkedElement.classList.remove('govuk-skip-link-focused-element')
   }
diff --git a/packages/govuk-frontend/src/govuk/components/skip-link/skip-link.puppeteer.test.js b/packages/govuk-frontend/src/govuk/components/skip-link/skip-link.puppeteer.test.js
index 55b0ae2ce6..cd3b7f8cc1 100644
--- a/packages/govuk-frontend/src/govuk/components/skip-link/skip-link.puppeteer.test.js
+++ b/packages/govuk-frontend/src/govuk/components/skip-link/skip-link.puppeteer.test.js
@@ -67,6 +67,42 @@ describe('Skip Link', () => {
   })
 
   describe('errors at instantiation', () => {
+    it('can return early without errors for external href', async () => {
+      await render(page, 'skip-link', {
+        context: {
+          text: 'Exit this page',
+          href: 'https://www.bbc.co.uk/weather'
+        }
+      })
+    })
+
+    it('can return early without errors when linking to another page (without hash fragment)', async () => {
+      await render(page, 'skip-link', {
+        context: {
+          text: 'Exit this page',
+          href: '/clear-session-data'
+        }
+      })
+    })
+
+    it('can return early without errors when linking to another page (with hash fragment)', async () => {
+      await render(page, 'skip-link', {
+        context: {
+          text: 'Skip to main content',
+          href: '/somewhere-else#main-content'
+        }
+      })
+    })
+
+    it('can return early without errors when linking to the current page (with hash fragment)', async () => {
+      await render(page, 'skip-link', {
+        context: {
+          text: 'Skip to main content',
+          href: '#content'
+        }
+      })
+    })
+
     it('can throw a SupportError if appropriate', async () => {
       await expect(
         render(page, 'skip-link', examples.default, {
@@ -137,14 +173,14 @@ describe('Skip Link', () => {
         render(page, 'skip-link', {
           context: {
             text: 'Skip to main content',
-            href: 'this-element-does-not-exist'
+            href: '/components/skip-link/preview'
           }
         })
       ).rejects.toMatchObject({
         cause: {
           name: 'ElementError',
           message:
-            'Skip link: Root element (`$module`) attribute (`href`) has no URL fragment'
+            'Skip link: Target link (`href="/components/skip-link/preview"`) has no hash fragment'
         }
       })
     })