As I'm sure you are all well aware the UK as a whole fears guns. They are the weapons of gangs and thugs. UK gun law is extremely tight and restrictive. Shotguns can be used relatively easily whereas handguns are looked upon negatively and harshly by society and the police alike.
Some of you will remember the bombings on the london underground on 7/7 last year. Subsequently Charles de menezes was gunned down by police when they suspected him as a suicide bomber.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4262988.stm
This leads me to the focus of my post. This article on the BBC
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/5211998.stm
At first glance it seems ludicrous for the police to react in this way. However I cant help but thinking they do have a massive point. If I was an armed transport police officer and I was called upon to confront a youth holding what appeared to be a gun on the underground i wouldn't know how to react. ESPECIALLY given the events of July last year. Is it all just over reaction from a nation of paranoid gun users? Or is it a sensible reaction to an unnecessary (and perhaps inappropriate 'competition' given events in lebanon?)