SO NOW it’s official: there is a Plan B, the boss of Blue Islands is getting cold feet about acquiring Aurigny Air Services and the story we ran on Monday about a significant change to the announced plan was spot on.

Our headline saying the deal was ‘dead’ quoted those who claimed knowledge of an email from Blue Islands to Aurigny suggesting a different approach, but can anyone now doubt that this opportunistic attempt to seize control of valuable Gatwick slots for just £1 is finished?

What happened yesterday, following pressure from this newspaper, is that T&R threw in the towel – and tried to distance itself from the actions of the head of Healthspan and Blue Islands.

You have to read between the lines, but the message is clear. Treasury was ‘not aware’ of the climbdown email ‘but is aware that Derek Coates has met an Aurigny representative to outline other options’.

So, no official involvement in Plan B and the inference is that Mr Coates went commando to see if he could get a more acceptable deal by going straight to Aurigny. Well, T&R went behind the backs of its own Aurigny board to cook up the great giveaway of taxpayer assets, so it probably cannot complain.

The other interesting thing is that while the department didn’t apparently know of the Plan B email, the minister, from yesterday’s statement, might have done so.

And asked whether Aurigny itself had taken any action, T&R said its airline board ‘has referred this matter’ to the department.

In other words, whatever happened was of sufficient significance for Aurigny to convene a board meeting, possibly an emergency one, consider it, and, we must assume, seek guidance from Treasury as shareholder.

And that indicates that Plan B, which reportedly centres on a voluntary pooling of ideas on cost saving rather than a formal acquisition, requires T&R as owner to give Aurigny a fresh mandate.

Whether that has been issued remains unclear and the Aurigny board remains gagged, despite a fresh request from this newspaper for the gagging order to be lifted.

It really is time T&R came clean on what it is doing to Guernsey’s airline.