Page "BAC TSR-2" Paragraph 12

However, at two Cabinet meetings held on 1 April 1965, it was decided to cancel the TSR-2 on the grounds of projected cost, and instead to obtain an option agreement to acquire up to 110 F-111 aircraft with no immediate commitment to buy.

This decision was announced in the budget speech of 6 April 1965.

The maiden flight of the second development batch aircraft, XR220, was due on the day of the announcement, but following an accident in conveying the airframe to Boscombe Down, coupled with the announcement of the project cancellation, it never happened.

Ultimately, only the first prototype, XR219, ever took to the air.

A week later, the Chancellor defended the decision in a debate in the House of Commons, saying that the F-111 would prove cheaper.