Gurkhas ‘plight remains unresolved’, says Reading East MP

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Gurkhas ‘plight remains unresolved’, says Reading East MP

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6th October 2008 

In a well received speech to local officials, campaigners and retired Gurkha soldiers on Saturday, Rob Wilson celebrated the success of the Gurkhas’ recent High Court ruling, whilst drawing attention to the still unaddressed issue of pension rights.

Former Nepalese Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, attended the meeting at the Old Mayor’s Parlour in Reading to lend his support to the Gurkhas’ long campaign for fair and equal treatment. Deuba has served as Prime Minister of Nepal on three occassions, most recently between 2004 and 2005, before the Nepalese King dissolved the Government and seized direct power. He remains a popular figure in Nepal and is steadfast in his support of the Gurkha cause.

Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Reading West, Alok Sharma – who recently took a petition to Number 10 with the Gurkhas – also spoke at the event.

In his speech, Rob Wilson backed up David Cameron’s comments in his recent speech at the party conference and told the Government not to appeal the High Court’s ruling. He provided an informative account of the Gurkhas’ pensions problem and demanded the Government to take action.

The Gurkhas, he said, “Are embroiled in a new battle, far from the conflict zones – this time with the Ministry of Defence.”

Last year the Gurkhas appeared to have won equal pension rights, however the deal was not as good as it first looked, ignoring the 22,000 brave soldiers who had fought for our country in conflicts such as the Falklands, and retired before 1997. The Government also fiddled with how it measured service records, calculating time spent before 1997 in a way that was disadvantageous to the Gurkhas.

The Reading East MP said the Government’s pensions offer was, “Illogical, unfair and amount to unjust treatment of a dedicated group of ex-service men and women.”

Rob closed his speech by calling on the Government to look at its conscience and bring Gurkha pensions fully into line with their British counterparts.

He challenged Gordon Brown to, “Take heed of the High Court’s recent ruling. Allow the Gurkhas to stay in the UK. And solve the pension’s injustice once and for all. Only then can this shame be lifted from our Government.”