Exactly as Kitbag says the truth is likely somewhere in the middle. The real issue here is that the taxpayer is paying approx £400m per aircraft (based on a production run of 9 frames).
Particularly in these financially challenging times this is nothing short of a scandal and probably does warrant a public inquiry. There's a lot of unanswered questions on this one, many of which have been raised on this forum over the years. Personally I see no reason why the taxpayer should be kept in the dark and why shouldn't those key individuals responsible be named and shamed? Even better if some lessons could be learned and enshrined in principle for the benefit of all going forwards.
Regards the debate around ISD for MRA4 I think the complete "radio silence" of late (inc. no shows at RIAT and SBAC) speak volumes regards future intentions. I just don't buy the "paperwork delays" piece and I personally believe that the decision to canx has either already been made or is very imminent. Not that this decision would be the right one, for many, many reasons that again have been well documented - not least the complete waste of 4bn quid!!
Feel very sorry for those crews, eng's and others currently in 'limbo land' - can't be a nice place to be.