The 3 hours max extension is a soft rule only. Case closed.
Now, this is what the young and impressionable are quoting as their interpretation of the spin coming from above. Dangerous. You can just see a new cadet captain overlying suitable airports on one engine ! Or similar variations.
The old heads need to sort this one out to avoid a future sacking or worse as the impressionable confuse soft rules for some, hard rules for others.