Back in the eighties the UK CAA mandated autopilots for light twins working night ops in the police segment of helicopter aviation.
It was quite a bit later than that. I was working as a police CP from the late 1990s until early 2000s when it came in. At that time we were operating an unstabilised (floppy stick) aircraft, not even a stick trim was fitted. Interesting night flying and we latterly trained for instrument approaches in that aircraft.
The accident mentioned about the police helicopter (Scottish EC135) was caused mainly by the pilot not understanding the autopilot and fighting it all the way to the ground, rather than allowing it to help him as intended. Surely that accident was caused by a lack of initial TR training if ever there was one.
It's only in the last few years that I've been checked on my ability to fly a coupled ILS. I think this was because some of the dinosaurs at the CAA didn't understand the systems themselves and somehow saw use of them as "cheating"!
Thankfully, the folks now in the CAA have a more modern mindset and an understanding of modern aircraft and how they need to be flown.