Thanks Easy Street. I have read the SI report, and was struck that I have read similar comments about unit culture in more than one contemporary SI report, which is another strand of concern, but what I was getting at with my original post is that whilst there is much discussion on here of the shackle/bolt aspect, and the contractual/safety case aspect, the fact that an experienced pilot can go flying with a crotch strap through the ejector handle is astonishing to the casual observer, and yet seems to have passed on this forum more or less without comment.
I am also struck that the issue of the safety pin being inserted with the handle in an unsafe position seems to be presented in the SI as new news. Call me cynical, but are we asked to believe that in the many thousands of Hawk operating cycles, this has never happened before, or has, but was never noticed? Given the location of the pin, it seems obvious that the pilot would find it difficult to spot the error, but ground crew are in a much better position to do so, and I find it hard to believe there were not instances in the past when they did.