Your main reasons to your main questions are answered in today's Sunday papers. ......Why was it cancelled? It was nowhere near being safe enough to fly in today's world and enough was enough.
A bit naive - it was cancelled to save money pure and simple - which the torys have as much as admitted in any case.
The rest are all excuses being wheeled out to lessen the association between themselves, savage cuts and the resulting decimation of the armed forces. The ST seem content to swallow and repeat this.