when in the scenario of a touching ball i understand that a shot has to be played away but does that mean that you can't move the offending ball ?

If the "offending ball" moves, then it is deemed to be a "push shot", which is a foul.

You play away only when touching a ball that can be used as the "ball on".

So if you're on a red, and you're touching a red, then play away - you can even pot another red if you like!

But, if you're touching a red but you're on a colour, you must still play a colour.