[myrandomcomment]

"...but handguns were effectively banned after the Dunblane school massacre in 1996 with the exception of Northern Ireland."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firearms_regulation_in_the_Uni...

They have not always had the outright ban they have now.

Knife Crime:

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-42749089

With the number of fatal stabbings in England and Wales in 2017-18 the highest since records began - the BBC has tracked the first 100 killings in 2019 - revealing the people behind the headlines. - Mar 8, 2019

"there were 285 knife murders in England and Wales in 2017/18 — the highest number since the Second World War — and 34 in Scotland"

Not everything is black and white.