We should on this forum applaud this crew rather than criticise them and hope that the tabloids learn something from it.
I tend to agree. I think the crew most probably weighed the risk of a few extra minutes airborne against the risk of landing in unfavourable weather conditions and then made the decision to continue. Sounds like a safe and sensible thing to do. Our whole job is weighing up risks and choosing what we hope is the best option. Trying to make hard and fast rules like " nearest is nearest is nearest" is understandable but will never be a substitute for solid decision making.