I would not wish to argue with the esteemed members of HM's finest Royal Air Force, but there is surely a difference between flying a formation with the wingtips practically touching (the kind of stuff which is done for magazine front covers), and flying a few hundred feet apart when quite reasonable pics can be obtained.
Yes, the difference is that the latter can hardly be called formation flying.
Even so, it needs to be properly briefed and organised. Aircraft seldom have accidents when actually flying in formation, but rather when joining up or breaking away from each other.