After reading back through your original post in my opinion as a technician (without seeing the car but going on the symptoms you've given) I would say that its very likely that one or more of the valves has made contact with the piston due to the belt slipping.
As i'm unfamiliar with these engines due I take it they've got hydraulic tappets?? If you've got a bent valve this will give you the tappet noise,due to the top of the valve sitting further down in the head and the hydraulic lifter unable to close the larger gap. May pay to check valves on number one cylinder for extra clearance as hydraulic lifters don't usually have a clearance like manual adjusters.
You say that the compression on number one cylinder was 'a little low' How low are we talking in relation to the other 5 cylinders because a small difference would very rarely give a noticeable running problem.
If it was a piston ring (compression ring) fault you would be getting excessive crankcase pressure (breathing heavy when the oil filler cap and/or dipstick is removed) and zero compression.
Or if it was an oil control ring fault you'd have a noticeable oil consumption problem (accompanied with blue smoke) and the spark plug on the affected cylinder would be contaminated with oil.
I think they've realised they dropped a bollock and are hoping that by slipping into bullsh*t mode (how many times have I heard it in the workshop!!) they're going to be able to able to fob you off.
All said and done I would have thought that if they were a reputable garage their labour/work should be covered by a 12 month warranty. :question
If they've screwed it up,then its down to them to fix it F.O.C and not for you to pay out more money

Hope you get it sorted (keep us posted)
Cheers
Roj