BA fine damages reputation of British industry - Opik

10.08.20pm BST (GMT +0100) Wed 1st Aug 2007

Commenting on British Airways' fine for colluding with Virgin Atlantic over fuel surcharges, Liberal Democrat Shadow Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Secretary, Lembit Öpik MP said:

"The size of the fine indicates the level of the offence.

"British Airways as a corporation is something of an ambassador of UK aviation and British industry as a whole. That is why this fine has far greater symbolism in terms of the standards expected from the UK corporate sector.

"Companies need to recognise that you can't sting consumers with hidden charges and get away with it. It's not fair and it's not ethical.

"A valuable lesson has been learnt here, a lesson that has cost British Airways £120 million."