The link is to a
Defence News item confirming Hammond is still weighing up the choice between the B and C, with an announcement due sometime after May 3. The item also refers to a search for the source of the press leaks about carrier conversion costs.
Hammond 'still considering carrier options' - Defence Management
I have been very disappointed in how this has been handled so far, with the indecision pointing to weakness all round, but I hope Hammond is getting accurate and impartial advice so that he can make the correct choice for the circumstances. In that respect, better two more weeks than another rushed decision followed by another about turn.
The business of leaks raises some questions too. The press are often ridiculed over howlers (see thread title for example), yet when one vested military interest or another is worried about how a project is developing, they are not slow to seek support by leaking to the press. So is the press an ally or an enemy, or both, depending on whether it is furthering your interests or belittling them?
While the accuracy is often lamentable, and there are definitely downsides, on the whole I believe that the press shining a light on some dark places is in all of our interests. Not coughing up real secrets that threaten security you understand, but military procurement in the UK has short-changed us at huge expense for too long for civil servants or governments to be able to hide behind a security cloak that does more to protect reputations and political careers than further our defence.