Gurkhas enlist Lumley in UK residency battle
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Star power: Joanna Lumley with ex-Gurkhas including Victoria Cross winner Tul Bahadour Pun, front left. (AFP: Geoff Caddick)
Retired Gurkhas from Nepal have launched a High Court battle in London for the right to live in the United Kingdom.
To the sound of bagpipes, they carried a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II and waved Union Jack flags and banners demanding "Justice and Equality" as they gathered with hundreds of supporters.
Gurkhas who retired from the British Army after the regiment moved its main base from Hong Kong to the UK in 1997 have automatic permission to remain in the UK.
But those who left earlier must apply, and can be refused and deported.
The famed regiment of Nepalese soldiers has fought for Britain since 1815, most recently in Iraq, Afghanistan and the former Yugoslavia.
Lawyer Edward Fitzgerald, representing five retired Gurkhas and the widow of a sixth, said four of the soldiers were barred from entering Britain because their headquarters were in Hong Kong and they lacked strong ties with the UK.
"To say this is to ignore the history of the Gurkhas. And it is to ignore the special debt this country owes to all Gurkhas, past and present, whatever their brigade's location, and whatever their date of discharge," Mr Fitzgerald told the court.
British actress Joanna Lumley, whose father was an officer in a Gurhka regiment, is supporting their claim.
"They're prepare to lay down their lives and many, many thousands of Gurkha soldiers have lost their lives in service of this country," she said.
"If that isn't a tie to this country, I'm not certain what is."
All other foreign soldiers in the British Army can settle in Britain after four years' service anywhere in the world. About 2,000 Gurkhas are affected by the current rules.
The hearing is expected to last two days, although the result is unlikely to be announced for several weeks.
The Gurkhas have also struggled for years for equal pension rights which, for those who retired before 1997, are about a quarter of the level paid to those who served after that time.
