" or is this just an excuse to bin it?"
I think that's the case- reading ORAC's article
he problem is "spending money"
"The Type 23 LIFEX programme has taken much longer and cost far more than originally anticipated as serious age-related obsolescence, mechanical and structural problems have come to light. HMS Iron Duke returned to her home base in Portsmouth recently, 53 months after starting her LIFEX refit. The RN says the project was the most complex of any undertaken on the Type 23s and structural repairs to the hull involved almost twice the work of any previous refit in the class. The cost implications are obvious and the additional expense of getting one ship to sea may have cannibalised the budget available for others."