The party was excellent, a stunning location with perfect weather and an awesome flying display by Aerosparx! Who would have thought that night, close formation in motorgliders covered in LEDs and punching out pyros and smoke would ever get sanctioned.
As for the truth - I don't know what went on in the corridors of power but I do know that St Athan had dug out blind to achieve operational readiness in just a month after receiving the aircraft. There was some rumour about numbers of pilots but the RAF SAR flights have operated on the bare minimum many times due to illness, OOAs and FI dets without compromising safety or capability so it really doesn't sound like a level playing field.
To be honest, it sounds like a last minute knee-jerk reaction from someone in the chain - RAF, MCA, DfT - with little real reason.
Blaming the delay on Bristow is not fair or justified.