I don't think an alleged nodding man means much. He could have been suffering from Tourettes or Parkinsons - or maybe just struggling to stay awake.
The "CAA Regulatory Review of GA in the UK" dated June 2006 (see
http://www.caa.co.uk/docs/1/reg%20review.pdf) proposed 19 recommendations which, if implemented, were supposed to "improve the regulatory environment". Preventing most of the UK GA fleet from travelling legally more than 15-20 miles off the coast was not among them - but they've done it.