A VRIAB can be cleared with dozens of aircraft on or near the runway, surely? The procedure doesn’t involve use of Her Majesty’s tarmac. It’s the perception of ‘aircraft in air vs. aircraft on ground/hovering’ that went astray here ... the Spitfire was inappropriately LOW for the procedure and the environment in which he was operating.
PS: And the ATCO shoukd have said “Spitfire, you are too low for this procedure. Caution ... Chinook at the upwind end.”