Robin
it is interesting that you say "It was a permit aircraft so his options were limited"
it is not the first time I have seen aircraft dammaged by following "rules" be they local or misunderstood bits of the ANO, fortunatly all the inccidents that I have seen have just resulted in bent metal and no injury to the occupants.
It is my view that the captain of an aircraft can take any action he/she sees fit to assure the safety of the aircraft and its occupants, the bottom line is that if I painted myself into a very low cloudbase situation I would climb above the MSA and get radar vectors to some place that I could safely get the aircraft on the ground irrispective of the certification status of the aircraft, if the aircraft was not capable of IMC flight I would pick the best field I could find and land in it.
There are parts of the ANO that permit the breaking of any of the rules if life is in danger.
In aviation the only action that matters is the one that gets you back on the ground safely.
I would far rather explain my actions to the CAA than St Peter.