More likely it's the British government attempting to wage war on the cheap
Spartacan, you took the words out of my mouth ( keyboard ).
If the rules are set as present to ensure that safety margins are not eroded, why should the general public and / or injured troops accept a reduced safety margin, e.g just because the UK Government want to save a few quid.
Mind you, I'll bet that there's some small print in the DfT contracts that let's them off the hook should a knackered civvy pilot manage to prang his aircraft after being awake for +24 hours !