draken,
Thank you for your gracious edit which removed the implication that I personally had a secret agenda.
To me it is all about the money. We know that the Defence Plan was tens of billions over the expected budget for the next ten years, SDSR has had to reign in our current and future expenditure to match our likely income. The key then is to decide what capabilities to reduce and by how much.
My point is that once all the arguments had been completed (and let's not go through all that again please), it was decided to remove the GR9 capability. To then attempt to 'buy it back' will cost tens of millions that will have to be found from elsewhere (anyone who thinks Defence will get an extra wedge of cash for Harrier from the PM is delusional). Taking the cash from elsewhere will have a detrimental effect on that other capability.
Another point is that the annual Planning Round doesn't normally finish until about February, so if things are progressing as normal, Main Building will be in the heart of the Stage 3 process and still running all sorts of options for further savings. Who says Fast Jet capability isn't going to be hit further?