I had a chance to work in Afghanistan as a contractor to an IT company – I rejected it as it wasnt worth the risks to my saftey, money was massive but there is more to life than that imo.
However if i had taken it I would have expected to fund my own return if it had become more dangerous.
Oil company putting on their own flights for their staff thats fair enough but the other ones that are going today are government chartered ones picking up other uk citizens – get them out yes but then get them invoiced afterwards.
On the not paying tax thing – a friend works on ships and he openly doesnt pay tax yet comes home for treatment from the NHS etc when he needs it. He claims though that driving a Range Rover he pays enough by the ammount of fuel he uses when he is home.