Our company specifically mentions in the travel policy that any airmiles earned are a "sort of compensation" for the inconvennience of travel and staying away from home etc etc as has already been said. They do qualify this by saying that airmiles earnings opportunities should not influence airline choice etc - but at least it it is written down then no one can complain.

Like anything these days I think that the media have cleverly over egged this situation so that the average man on the street who doesn't know much about airmiles sees it as another example of a corrupt politician with his snout in the trough and therefore it is just evil evil evil.......

Most people who read and hear about it probably don't actually appreciate what it's about other than that it is about a politician.

It's a bit like when one of my insurance competitors appears on Watchdog for declining a claim. The public probably don't register whether it was Norwich Union, or Standard Life - just that it is yet another insurance company trying to wriggle out of a claim.........