You are 100% correct… but if I had no other options for comms during an emergency I’d happily risk prosecution.
Depending on where I am going I sometimes carry a VHF set capable of use on the 2m FM band as well as Channel 16 and Channel 62a.
To be clear, this is “last resort” use.
It’s not that long ago that PLBs were illegal to use on land in the UK. Didn’t stop people using them in an emergency and no one was ever prosecuted.
Frivolous or mischievous use would of course be a very different matter.