Wrt F16 lease, the rumour I heard was that Portillo offered a wing of F16s to replace the Jaguar force but the RAF brass turned him down as they feared it would put Typhoon numbers (and their future jobs.....) at risk.
Can you post a trigger warning before you mention that exercise? I was involved in some of the discussions, and the thought of staring down the barrels of Messrs Carter-Ruck gives me the heebie-jeebies to this day.
Had it all gone differently, there would be no Typhoon...