Post 9-11 and the BA apprentices which used to give the aircraft some TLC had not been up for a while as BA cut costs in attempt to stem losses. After a period of time, the aircraft needed some money spent on them that BA were not going to spend, as they'd been neglected a little. So they were offered then scrapped. Tragic, I was there in 1993 and in the Easter of 2006 just as they were pulling the engines of the B707. Utterly heartbreaking as the VC10 and the rest looked in great shape.
People think I am a BA fan but there are times they are just stupid and short sighted beyond belief.