Well, if they're going to arm their police, at least they do it mostly right (I do think there are better choices than Glocks).
Of course, a small number of British policemen were always armed because of special duties, like dignitary protection and other assignments. If I recall correctly, they were issued the same sidearms as the British Army. There were also a few armed offender squads that had handguns. I think most of those were S&W revolvers.
It's interesting to note that not only the politician and the chairwoman of the Gun Control Network campaign group (why do you need a gun control group when guns are already basically outlawed except in certain, very restricted cases?) were opposed to the armed police officers, the majority of the British police are also opposed to being armed. British ballistic vests had to be modified because the primary threat wasn't bullets, it was knives.
Sadly, the influx of immigrants has really destroyed the fabric of what used to be England, though the fabric was pretty shabby even before them. English criminals, by and large, really did not use firearms. Not only did it aggravate the offense, it destroyed any sympathy the public might have for the crook. English gangs, which used to be just as violent as gangs anywhere else, seldom had any weapons other than knives. The main gun problem was in Ireland and sometimes that bled over into England itself. Now, the flood of people from countries where guns are more common, even if no more legal, and the availability of guns in many parts of Europe and the Middle East has made things bad. I have several friends in England and they are all concerned about the immigrants who (surprise! surprise!) are also taxing Britain's social welfare system to the breaking point.
