WEBF,
Re my "Maybe a better idea would be to bring back the Phantom and the Buccaneer."
Did you really think that was a serious proposal. My point was that we are (arguably) moving forward to a new generation of naval aircraft and we have canned all the old stuff. It would be as irrelevant to consider bringing the ones broken up last century as those we gave away this decade.
As for the U-turn, I was refering to giving the Hars to the Americans and then leasing them back. The fact that the Government has already u-turned once on the 35C, makes them even less likely to do so again (ie. back to the C or asking for the discarded jets back). I can imagine Miliband relishing another u-turn in PMQs.
No matter how good an idea it is, WEBF, it's unlikely to happen in this climate.