To be fair to manccowboy, I understand that emotions are running high. Those outside BAE treat it as a whole but those of us on the inside knew differently. The internal bickering within BAE was pretty bad but some the decisions within MOD and the RAF needed looking at as well.
I think that the problem was that yes, BAE had design authority on MR2, initially at Woodford and latterly at Chadderton so why the hell did they place the design leadership at Warton? If it was placed at Woodford in the first place, many of the issues would have been overcome in the early days, by those that understood MR2. By the time the issues were raised it too late. The reasons the aircraft was so late are long and complex but to cancel it after so much effort and expenditure seems bizarre at best. I don’t believe however that all of the issues which had dogged the project were fully resolved when it was cancelled and IMHO, it should have cancelled in about 2000. Mustn’t complain too much as it gave me 5 years employment.
All-in-all not one of the British aircraft industry’s finest moments.