My assumption is that they're likely arguing it a bit from a legal standpoint, but more from a practicality standpoint. You can pass a law prohibiting me from writing/running certain code, but that doesn't mean you actually have any way to enforce it (though I'm sure the UK gov would like to try).
That’s just laws. Regulation can shape development in productive directions, and provides for punitive action when people and organizations inevitably cause harm. My whole point is that coding is not special in these ways
we can't stop people from writing malware but you can't exactly sell it to the masses