The reason that the F3 Tornados are there is very fundamental. Should the Ryanair 737 or Aer Arran ATR suddenly have veered off course and headed for such an important building as the Boddingtons Brewery in Manchester, the Scottish Assembly, Ibrox Park or the RAFA Club in Prestwick then they would have shot it down without hesitation.
After all, other headbangers had a go at the World Trade Centre and George Bush has been wishing ever since that he had had a couple of F-16s or Tornadoes nearby with properly briefed crews!