Scud-U-Like
I'm an ex-mil (25 years) ATCO who has descended a/c over Scotland to low level hundreds of times.
In this case the a/c were flying under RIS, a legal contract with the ATCO where the a/c accepted that they were responsible for terrain clearance. It has now reached the stage where ATC must remind a/c of that fact, but no other in the legal obligations required of the pilot under RIS (i.e no changes to height/level or altitude).
It was established at the outset of the trial that the a/c were on a RIS, the legal definition of RIS was accepted at the outset of the trial as well.
It would therefore be logical to assume that the ONLY reason for continuing to proceed was that someone very senior somewhere had an axe to grind OR they needed to have examined every aspect (relevant or not) of this case.
If you read the ATC forum thread on this you'll see that it has left a very bad taste in every (mil & civil) ATCO's mouth.