More smoke, more mirrors, I'd say tff. By blaming Defence cuts, the blame moves towards the despised politicians and away from the High Command. It is there, as well as with the MAA itself, that the long term threat to Military Air Safety exists. The MAA is based on a lie, the Haddon Cave Nimrod Report. No Regulator that refuses to face that reality can be taken seriously, neither can an Air Accident Investigator that is subservient to that Regulator. Above all else, an Air Regulator and an Air Accident Investigator must be independent of the operator and of each other.
The more the 'I' word is trumpeted, the more you know that it is bogus. More smoke, more mirrors...