Flip was responsible for the POR, but despite a concerted attempt to see what happened to the paper trail nothing was ever found. It was a big deal at the time,if you remember Defence Ministers were even trying to blame 47 Sqn. However when the existence of the TAT meeting was discovered the trail went all the way to the MoD and the game was over.
In reality very few people were aware of the vulnerability of herc fuel tanks or even the existence of foam to mitigate the threat.
The Stn Cdr was most unhelpful at this time. And as you can see from the exchange with the Flt Cdr I posted, the momentum to continue day low level was all powerful. The laudable attempt by the exchange officer to highlight the weakness was simply doomed to fail in this atmosphere.
What was desperately needed was clear leadership and guidance from Group. It never materialized.