BOAC, language critic well accepted.
Stall: Yes, the pitot got ice-free quickly, but did they know? They couldn't trust their instruments anymore. How could they know that speed is indicating correctly, once they remained around and below 60kts? It's a very disturbing indication. The likelihood that they are wrong is bigger, if you find yourself in this situation. Because it is not possible that you are in the air and indications show zero. Even vertical speed (-10000 fpm) they did not trust, and I can understand that they didn't.
I stand with my initial statement: After they inadvertently stalled the plane, their chances of recovering was very low. The only chance would have been to push down, check GPS speed, then pull. (G load should not be a problem as long as speed is in a normal range). I'm pretty sure we will be presented with some kind of data about how it is possible (BEA final report?).
That's also why Airbus training guidelines now concentrate on Unreliable Speed and stall recognition, not on stall recovery. It's much more important not to get into stall than to get out of it.