A tragic and horrible way to go. Agreed that looking down towards the xpdr will make life incredibly difficult and perhaps better ATC understanding of the lack of stability a light rotary pilot faces, especially during IIMC, would be useful so that such instructions are not issued in the future.
However, just to play devils advocate one could argue that it is the pilots responsibility to maintain control of the aircraft and during a situation like this the decision could be taken to disregard the ATC request.
Without wading into the debate about the PPL(h) 5hrs instrument training requirement, with the current system in place should the CAA issue guidance to flying schools and examiners that additional emphasis should be placed on not only the importance of avoiding IMC altogether but how utterly vital it is to keep focused on the instrumentation should you find yourself caught out?
The figures for loss of life due to similar accidents are shocking and surely must be a high priority issue.