To be fair, it wasn't all about price and a great deal hinged on demonstrating to the DfT that all the promises could be delivered on and that suitable contingency plans were in place to cover all sorts of eventualities.
What is slightly concerning is that the DfT have been advertising for a SAR transition co-ordinator (a fairly important and crucial job methinks) but, due to civil service blinkers and structures, the salary is £41K. The old saying of pay peanuts and get monkeys comes to mind
