Originally Posted by
andrewn
you have to remember the backdrop to the 2010 SDSR, the country was broke and on the verge of bankruptcy. There were no "nice to haves", that's why Nimrod, Harrier, Cottesmore, Leuchars all went.
Doesn't make it any more palatable, but it was probably the only course of action back then.
We were admittedly in rather a tight spot, and as the PM kept noting difficult decisions had to be made. However, in the light of an ongoing COIN campaign in Afghanistan, the obvious need to maintain a fixed wing carrier capability for future, the requirement to guard sea lines of communication and support the deterrent and conduct northern UK ADR activities, all those decisions seem to be baffling rather than difficult.