Chaps - I normally linger on the military thread, but couldn't resist reading this thread because it involves all of us, and it ties in with my line of business. I have a question and a couple of points. Does anyone know what exactly what the "damages" that this guy was awarded are? If it was a couple of million then that is, if invested, an income of some 50K per year. He has also received a public apology and, whilst I acknowledge that many will believe that there is "no smoke without fire", such an apology is enough for him to sue a future potential employer who refuses him employment without concrete grounds (if indeed he wants'needs to work again) and to enable him to show his face in public. The reverse side of the coin is that the "authorities" have shown, publicly, that they are vigilant (they may also have publicly demonstrated their "clumsiness - but that's a subjective call) and sent a clear message to potential terrorists that "we are watching". Whilst I do not want to get into the Human Rights debate - especially in terms of Individual Rights v Individual Responsibilities I would point out that it is a 2-way street. There are jobs out there (Armed Forces springs immediately to mind for some reason!) where some things that people would see as my "Human Rights" have been curtailed because of the requirements of my employment - that's OK, I knew that when I signed up and, to be honest, I could have worked it out for myself without being told. There are simply some activities that are not compatible with some jobs. Finally, the big question - the "What If". Just say that this guy had crashed his aircraft into Canary Wharf and subsequent investigations revealed what we all know know after reading this thread - what would the Human Rights supporters be saying now? So, for what it's worth, my take on this is that in the overall scheme of things everyone involved in this is a loser - the individual, BA, the security services and HMG - OR, just perhaps everyone is a winner. The captain has his cash and a public apology and perhaps dopesn't ever need to work again, the security services have sent their message - etc etc. Just a thought............back off where I belong now!
