Well, can't speak for Britain, but here 1/2sm clear of cloud is the rule.
Can you tell me that a guy on the ground has the proper perspective to judge what the pilot is seeing from the cockpit? No way. Don't condem a person unless you have all the information, and as far as I can tell, unless you were in the machine, you don't have all the information.
I'm not trying to be confrontational at all here, but judging someone else's actions is thin ice, that's all I'm saying.
AR