Dysag,
My apologies. I knew that Vickers was not state-owned but I thought that BAC had an element of state-ownership. A little research show that I am wrong. However, the British aircraft industry of the post-war era may as well have been state owned as it fortunes were inextricably linked with the diktats of the Ministry of Supply. As to my original point, it somehow seems even worse that the state-owned airline was allowed to buy the rival product whilst the government was heavily funding a private company to build the VC10.
I think that some of these decisions are very difficult to judge with hindsight, as it is difficult to appreciate quite how much emphasis that generation placed on national prestige; something that modern (British) governments and companies are not interested in.