I think that the UK goverment did a great job. They caught the bad guys, no one got hurt, no properties damaged. This is really as good as it gets. I understand the current 'security instructions' and happily accept them.
Meanwhile it is up to all goverments to create asap a situation where trust is established. Goverments and the society trust 18 year old kids (policeofficers and soldiers) to carry (machine)guns and carry out orders. We feel (*cough*) safe when we see them. It must be possible to create a situation where pilots are trusted equally. If we are trusted to fly an aircraft with pax and kerosine, we should be trusted to bring a newspaper or anything else. A thorough identity check is more then sufficient. If the guys in front are really the pilots everybody will simply have to trust them. Whether the toothpaste of the captain is real or not, is the least of all problems after the flight has departed with that captain.
Identifying pilots is difficult with so many airliners from so many countries, maybe a common special pass(port) with corresponding data in a worldwide accessable database which gives pilots authority to fly trans-atlantic or to fly in Europe or to fly national depending on A/C type, type of ops, etc.. would help goverments to trust pilots from other countries. Once all pilots are trusted, the identity check should suffice and there would be no need to examine my wallet and squeeze my balls any longer.
I know this all sounds naive, but if the society can trust an 18 year old kid with a machinegun, it must be possible for us to become trusted people.