Originally Posted by
The Old Fat One
From a political perspective the guy who ultimately chopped the MRA4, and the LRMPA role from the RAF, was Liam Fox (then Defence Secretary) A little work with Google will throw up some of his quotes from the time, which now in the light of history and the decision to reinstate the capability thru' the P8, look a tad embarrassing for a politician who has not long returned from the wilderness.
To be fair to Fox (Not something I really want to do) there was a little publisised interview with Radio Scotland the day after the MRA4 cancellation, where he said that the capability was needed, but the MRA4 wasn't the platform to deliver it due to the fact that no-one could say when it would be in service and how much it would cost. He strongly hinted that this would be something they would look at again once the financial situation was better.