I would urge people to refer specifically to the quote of the ACOP in Post #39 as this is the primary source of information on how to deal with existing plugs and appliances, which is what we are mainly concerned with here. The Plugs and Sockets etc. (Safety) Regulations 1994 and BS1363-1:2016+A1:2018 are the applicable documents regarding products newly manufactured or placed on the market.
BS7671 is chiefly about electrical installations of buildings rather than portable appliances. It refers to the use of plugs mainly to describe the requirements they pose for the use of sockets. Some parts are worded in slghtly ambiguous ways; for example the reference in post #32 to one pin being engaged while another is fully exposed, is basically a prohibition on any kind of socket where pins of a plug could be engaged individually, e.g with the neutral pin in the line socket and the line pin overhanging the side of the socket body.
Regarding the replacement of ISOD-equipped plugs on class II equipment, the ISOD is one option available to manufacturers but there is no requirement for a plug fitted to class II equipment to use one. I.e. there is no 'Class II plug.' There has been much debate on whether changing an original moulded plug to a re-wireable one constitutes a modification of the equipment. To an extent this is up to the manufacturers. On another forum, we ran an experiment in which various appliance manufacturers' technical departments were asked whether it was acceptable to replace their plug with an alternative within the prescribed methods of installation and use set out in their instructions. Answers included Yes, No, and incomprehensible waffle indicating that the question was not understood. The main purpose in that case was to prove that the warranty was not being invalidated by removing the original plug.
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One thing is for sure- we can no longer rely (if we ever could) on moulded-on plugs being 'safe' or better than conventional plugs
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There have been documented cases of substandard moulded plugs and cordsets, for sure. However, from practical experience, I would estimate the number of defective installations of rewireable plugs compared to (compliant, approved) moulded ones as found in the field to be around 100:1. Therefore I would contend that in the real world, moulded plug installations (as opposed to the plugs themselves) are signifcantly safer than rewireable ones.