I would rarther have seen the money being put into Military SAR, which we know has worked for years, rarther than into a modern civilian SAR. After all, why change a winning formula?
What winning formula? The military have been doing SAR since the end of WW II but civilians have been doing it since 1969. The have had a major share in SAR around the UK since the 1980s, so what's so reactionary about them taking over the whole, civilian orientated, show.
For the military to continue with the task they would have to replace the whole fleet. Despite one subscriber to pPrune arguing otherwise there is no way you can get a Sea King, Carsonised or not, to do the job because it is 1960s technology.
They would have to buy American, probably the S92; even though the EU225has better range and speed, it lacks cabin headroom. It takes years and years to get a new aicraft into military service with uncountable committees meetings just to buy one them the shelf. They would have to start now to get aircaft to follow on to the Bristow contract.
One wonders, sometimes, whether some of the protesters have got themselves too deeply in a situation that is dependant on the status quo.