Sorry AGE but I must point out the flaw in your logic.
"We had also heard that there was an eye witness account, from a Harrier, of the fire, mid air explosion and subsequent crash. Don't know if HUD footage or any onboard camera recorded the accident. However, we had heard that the fire was at the starboard wing root area of the ac.
Now, there is a fuel pipe in that area which is used in AAR to refuel one of the internal fuselage tanks. Further, on inspection of another ac in theatre a small hole was found in the pipe. The pipe is welded to several brackets which are themselves attached to the supporting rib wall and the hole was close to one of the welds.
It is not uncommon for there to be pressure spikes during the refuelling process as refuel valves are closed elsewhere during the process. It is possible that repeated pressure spikes or repeated applications of normal pressure during either ground refuelling or AAR might have lead to the weakening of the weld and the subsequent hole. Atomised fuel could then escape into the space.
The hole in the pipework of the other AAR Nimrod was only discovered after the crash of XV230. Welding is still a technique used on the pipework of MRA4. You cannot assume that a leaking aircraft is safe.