Gurkhas descend on Downing Street & new online petition launched

7.07.00am GMT Thu 14th Dec 2006

South East Lib Dems Bev Rolfe, Toby Philpott, Peter Carroll and Lynne Beaumont at the Gurkha rally in London on 14 December

2 years ago, a major campaign by Gurkhas and strongly backed by the Liberal Democrats won an agreement to give citizenship rights to ex-Gurkhas who had served this country. A new on line petition to support the Gurkha's cause has been launched at the new E-petitions service at http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/gurkha/.

Ex-Gurkha Major Tikendra Dewan speaking at the Lib Dem autumn conference 2005

The Gurkhas are continuing to protest about the Government's failure to properly honour the right for retired Gurkhas to become citizens of the UK on retirement and to protest about the low pensions (1/6th to 1/8th that of other ex-Servicemen) paid to retired Gurkhas.

Gurkha leaders deliver protest letter to 10 Downing Street

Today, around 1,000 Gurkhas arrived in London to march from Parliament Square to hand deliver a letter to the Prime Minister at Downing Street. The Gurkhas are protesting about the Government's failure to properly honour the right for retired Gurkhas to become citizens of the UK on retirement and to protest about the low pensions paid to retired Gurkhas.

The Gurkhas have been joined by other campaigners and activists from across the Country, with South East Lib Dems Peter Carroll, Toby Philpott, Lynne Beaumont, Darren Briddock, Tom McNeice and Bev Rolfe amongst the supporters on the march to support the Gurkhas cause.

Related Links:

Link here to the Gurkha justice campaign.

Link to the E-petitions service which delivers the petition direct to Downing Street.