Gurkhas’ joy at legal victory
The High Court in London, Tuesday, ended the two-year legal battle of former British Gurkha soldiers by ruling in favour of them. Gurkha war heroes have won the right to stay in Britain after the Government was ordered to recognise its ‘debt of honour’ to them.
Veterans wept with joy and bellowed the traditional war cry of ‘Ayo Gorkhali!’ - ‘the Gurkhas are coming!’ - after the landmark judgment. More than 2,000 former Gurkhas were refused permission to live here because they had retired before July 1, 1997.
Immigration officials said they had not shown ’strong ties’ to Britain, despite 200 years of Army service in which Gurkhas have won 13 Victoria Crosses. But following a campaign supported by the Daily Mail, a High Court judge condemned the policy as ‘ unlawful’ and ordered Jacqui Smith to review the immigration guidelines urgently. Mr Justice Blake added that it was ‘irrational’ that bureaucrats did not take Army service or gallantry medals into account when considering applications.
The Gurkhas’ cause provoked widespread outrage that Britain had abandoned former soldiers to a life of poverty while opening its doors to hundreds of thousands of economic migrants.
Their supporters included the actress Joanna Lumley, 62, whose father served alongside them in the Army for more than 30 years.
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| Success: Actress Joanna Lumley celebrates the Gurkhas’ victory outside the High Court. Her father fought alongside the Gurkhas in the Second World War. |
Their most high profile supporter - actress Joanna Lumley - arrived at court to more cheering and clapping.
Wearing a yellow silk scarf, her speech in which she said she was “so proud of British justice and so proud of the Gurkhas” was greeted by more cheers.
Hundreds of Gurkhas packed into the High Court to hear the judgment. Afterwards, their lawyers and supporters were given silk scarves and showered with jasmine petals by hundreds of former soldiers and their cheering families.
Historically, all Gurkhas were forced to return to Nepal when they retired from the Army, on a pension a fraction of that of their British counterparts.
The Government changed the law to allow those who retired after 1997 to
remain in the UK on a full pension, but those who retired before then had to apply for a visa, and were usually rejected.
One veteran, 36-year-old Prem Limbu, said before he entered the court that he hoped it would be a success - and he was not disappointed. Those outside the courtroom first heard the news when one of their number flung open the heavy wooden court door with a shout and raised an arm, prompting applause and cheering, accompanied by bagpipes.
“There’s definitely going to be a celebration tonight. This is a big day for us,” Mr Limbu said, as all around him fellow veterans were congratulating each other. One Gurkha even lifted one of the legal team into the air in joy. Mr Limbu had been “unhappy” that the British government could raise concerns about human rights abuses in China but appeared unwilling to acknowledge what he called abuses against Gurkhas.
“It’s a double standard,” said the soldier who had served for 16 years.
Edward Fitzgerald QC, representing the former soldiers and widow, told the judge, Mr Justice Blake, at the start of the two-day court hearing that Britain owes “a special debt” to all Gurkhas.
He said four of those he was representing were refused leave to enter the UK on the grounds of lack of strong ties with the country.
“And the Government policy towards all these Gurkha soldiers discharged before 1997 is that they should not have the right to settle in the UK because when they served this country, the Gurkha Brigade heaquarters was in Hong Kong, and not 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.”
He said for two centuries Gurkha soldiers have served the Crown and established a reputation as “brave and loyal”.
“Gurkha soldiers have won no less than 13 VCs. ”
The court also ordered the Home Office to pay 80 per cent of the Gurkhas’ £250,000 legal costs. The Legal Services Commission will pay the rest.
News sources: The Dailymail and other news sources.
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