All hand guns are illegal in the UK, and most licences are for shotguns and hunting rifles, although deer are just about the only animal we have to shoot with a rifle, and most of our sport shooting consists of game bird shoots. A private citizen is unlikely to get a licence for any sort of automatic or repeat firing gun, i e no AK47s or Uzis.
Since the opening of the European borders due to the advent of the Common Market, and increasing number of illegal guns are appearing in the UK. This is also fuelled by the collapse of the communist bloc, and the increased availability of weapons that has caused.
On the whole guns are still comparatively rare in the UK as compared to the US, but unfortunately this is changing rapidly, and as has been said largely due to drug related activities.
Giok