Not strictly true. One rifle does not make you hot shit, that comes with training and experience. Plus G36c and MP5 are more common weapons among firearms officers in the UK.

There has been a change in tactics by the Police to respond to these new threats. Prior to the introduction of Counter Terroist Specialist Firearms Officers (CTSFOs) in 2012 as part of the London olympic preparations it was expected that UK Special Forces (UKSF) command from the military would take the heavy lifting of major terror attacks through the Military Aid to Civil Powers Act.

The police were happy to keep their armed response vehicles (ARV) for more mundane firearms operations typically responding to kids with airguns, suspects with bladed weapons, gang shootings where the shooter had fled etc. The AFOs (authorised firearms officers) operated in 3 men teams dressed closer to bobbies than tactical teams.

Specialist Firearms Officer (SFOs) were supposed to be the response to major incidents but were more suited for non terrorist attacks such as bank sieges. They had the tactical gear but they did not have the skills (air operations, explosive entry) or the experience on actual combat operations within the Middle East like the UKSF units (SAS, SBS, SRR, SFSG). They were widely seen as a substandard option to UKSF and the police did not adapt well to shoot to kill policy (Kratos) which they adopted on Isreali advice on dealing with suicide bombers.

The development of CTSFOs who are much closer to the level of UKSF and are now taking lead on CT ops with UKSF supporting instead of vice versa now. The development of Ambulence Service Hazardous Area Response Teams (HART) to deal with major attacks with specialist paramedics and Assault Improvised Explosive Device Disposal (AIEDD) operators