Leader: Does Gates' gong equal an endorsement of Microsoft practices?

Bill Gates has today been awarded an honorary knighthood. Cue the controversy - not least because of the messages this sends out at a time when Gates' company is under investigation by the EU for anticompetitive behaviour.

By awarding Gates this honour, the implication would appear to be that the UK government wholeheartedly endorses Gates' business model, despite other European leaders not being so sure. In fact it doesn't just endorse it - it even thinks it worthy of reward.

A government statement mentioned Gates' charity work as one reason he landed the gong but there has been no statement to the effect of it being his philanthropy in isolation. In fact, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office said it is as much his services to enterprise which have won him a trip to the palace.

silicon.com pressed the FCO on the issue only to be told in essence that the government doesn't really care what's going on with the EU.

But isn't the UK part of Europe? Isn't the antitrust case therefore an issue in the UK?

We were told it's not really a problem because there hasn't been a resolution in the case. But some may argue that's exactly the problem here.

Innocent until proven guilty is all well and good but given the high profile of the case wouldn't it have been prudent to adopt a wait-and-see approach, rather than undermine the credibility of the investigation by bestowing the highest possible accolade upon the man effectively standing in the dock?

So why has the government done this? After all, Gates' philanthropy is not new and he's long been a widely respected paymaster for thousands in the UK workforce.

If it had been made clear that this decision was taken purely because of Gates' philanthropy then this publication would gladly concede it is a deserved honour - as much as any of these anachronistic back-slappings ever are. But that isn't the case

This week Gates is the star turn at an event in London chaired by Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown. Last week the NHS was locked in talks with Gates over renegotiating cheaper software licences for the health service.

We're in no way suggesting that these events are linked to the knighthood but they do serve as a timely reminder as to why it's worth having Gates on side.

Whether that's an association the government really wanted to maintain at further cost to its already battered credibility is one only they can answer - but it would certainly not appear to trouble them.

However, until the latest legal wrangling blows over it makes the UK government appear to be an apologist for the rest of Europe's actions.