Max - so well funded they have publicly declared that the Fire and Rescue Service should have its own helicopters!!! Quite what they think they would do with them is anyones' guess.
It very much sounds like empire building. I agree with you wholeheartedly re; allocation of taxpayers money in the Emergency Services.
Is MIRG a white elephant? Most merchant vessels are well-equipped to help themselves or others when dealing with fire at sea and the RNLI lifeboats have plenty of firefighting capability for smaller vessels. You can't legislate for another Piper Alpha and anyway what use would a MIRG team have been then?