Background Noise,
You may well be right, but how do you think it looks to the masses when we're trying to justify spending millions training pilots and eye watering amounts on aircraft and who don't necessarily understand the nuances?
Or, playing Devil's advocate, what capability we have left is now operated in part by 'part timers', only good for gin clear conditions, using all weather capable ac that aren't all weather capable and can only operate when close enough to a base to refuel. Putin must be laughing.
Regardless of the reason, the RAF Corporate Comms desk best drop whatever they are doing right now and get a line out explaining the rationale before we are completely humiliated at home, abroad and viewed as a mere irritant by those we might seek to go up against one day. I can't even begin to imagine what they are saying on ArRSe right now.