What happens in Cartagena doesn't stay there

[Kralizec]

In my job, if I were to go an have a drink at the bar at a conference I would be in breach of the ABPI code of conduct and could be fired. If I don't like the rules, I'd best get a different job.

I assume those conferences count as work hours? I realize that the agents of this topic are expected to abide by certain rules even when they're not on the clock, but it seems that no actual rule was broken.

Employment carries its own set of expectations that are dependent on the employer that go beyond the law. Those expectations may or may not even be detailed in writing; however, they are well understood. For example,itt is perfectly legal to post lots of nasty or revealing things on Facebook, but, in my current occupation, I would be fired for doing so. My guess is that these agents knew that they were not living up to the standards of the agency but thought they could get away with it since it had been done before.

I'm not saying I disagree, in theory. In that light however it's surprising that there wasn't already anything in the conduct rules about visiting prostitutes in foreign countries. Surely this issue must have come up before, even if it didn't reach publicity. It wouldn't surprise me to hear that secret service agents have been doing this since the beginning of time and that it's tolerated as long as they manage some discretion, both in regards to publicity and to security.

Also it amuses me that the new conduct rules tackle this by means of euphenisms: don't allow foreigners in your hotel room