MoD has spent most of the 15 to 20 years following a policy of removing professional engineers from the procurement organisation
July 1996 when the then Chief of Defence Procurement, Sir Robert Walmsley, issued an edict that he didn't want or require engineers working on engineering projects. On 19 November and 13 December 2001, he issued written rulings that aircraft need not be functionally safe, but one could sign-off to say they were. (Direct result - Tornado ZG710 23.3.03, 2 killed). MoD continues to cite these rulings today. Thankfully some ignored him, but not all. Haddon-Cave sussed him, with his comment in the Nimrod Review about not employing submariners to manage aircraft.