Philbky, I agree with much of what you say, and would certainly support the view that successive governments over many years would have served the country better by encouraging manufacturing and buying the resulting products rather than those of foreign competitors.
My objection was to the idea that BAe's actions should have been prescribed. I would much prefer that they were free to make whatever business decisions they find most appropriate. It is the environment in which they were forced to operate that needed attention, and sadly still does.