Bearing in mind that
a. I live here, and
b. the likelihood of any PIRA unit being located in Somerset is about as far from reality as it is possible to get.
So MY take is that this is a police force getting rid of a collection of de-acts...
I spent far too much of my thirty-three years in the British Army in Northern Ireland as a serving soldier and officer, and there was NEVER the slightest hint of the use/presence of an MG34 in the province. The same goes for the civilian police version of the BAR - note the pistol grip. Also note the Martini........ That's FOUR different calibres to provide ammunition for, to start with.
Add to that the spectacularly poor reporting for which the Daily Wail is well-known...
tac