Reading West MP Martin Salter chaired a special meeting of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Gurkha’s rights in Westminster this week to discuss the campaign to attain settlement rights for the former Gurkha soldiers.

The meeting, which took place in a Commons committee room, was attended by several Labour MPs, over thirty representatives of the Gurkha community in the UK and their solicitors, and was chaired by Mr Salter.

Following a recent High Court hearing, the Government has given an undertaking to publish its new policy on Gurkha settlement rights by 24^th April. The previous policy, to grant rights only to Gurkhas who retired after 1997, was struck down as unlawful by the courts last September. Following a legal briefing from solicitors Howe and Co., Mr Salter led a discussion about next steps. He said:-

“The Government has a moral and legal obligation to produce a policy that honours the bravery of the Gurkha soldiers who have fought as equals in the British armed forces but are not afforded equal treatment afterwards. I have made representations to the Home Office and the Prime Minister and its imperative that we keep up the pressure in the run-up to the announcement on 24^th in order to achieve a settlement policy that’s both fair and just.”

Mr Salter criticised the Ministry of Defence for producing misleading figures concerning the anticipated cost to the taxpayer. He added:-

“The scare-mongering on the part of the MoD has been a disgrace, particularly their claims that former Gurkhas are likely to be a burden on the taxpayers when in fact everybody knows that the Gurkhas are extremely hard working and would pay taxes like everybody else. We’re not asking for special treatment for Gurkhas, we’re asking for equal treatment - the same as for other foreign nationals who fight for the British Crown.”