Based on what happened with the last MPA programme, no decision maker (with their hands on the purse strings) in their right mind would touch the P-8 with a ten foot barge pole.
Too many awkward questions hanging over the project, no one will want history repeating itself on their CV. Plus, their shrewdness will see all the rose-tinted P-8 press for what it is and give far more weight to independent, unbiased reports from those without a vested interest.