The Captain has the authority to do whatever he wants in an emergency, including deviating from any SOPīs he deems necessary to ensure the safety of the aircraft and its passengers.
Well said.
Leaving fd not required this side of the pond for obvious reasons.But a Captain can take whatever measure he thinks best to ensure safety.And if they fire him,he should sue.Company SOP's are superceded by regs.Aviation needs more Captains and less SOP puppets.He would have considered his actions carefully,taken all necessary precautions and then acted.That is perfectly normal and correct.Assuming of course that this is what happened.