Actress forces British PM to 'U' Turn in favour of Gurkhas rights

Joanna Lumley, Campaigner and TV star of Absolutely Fabulous, met with Prime Minister Gordon Brown in Downing Street this morning, to pile the pressure and finally bring victory for the Gurkhas.

The meeting, aimed to win new settlement rights for all Gurkha veterans, will be confirmed by an announcement from Jacqui Smith to the House of Commons, where it is expected to grant UK citizenship to the ex-servicemen and their families. The actress has campaigned tirelessly to improve the rights of the Nepalese soldiers, who fought for Britain in two world wars and are renowned for their bravery, loyalty and resilience. Three and half thousand Gurkhas serve in the British Army today. Following her meeting today at Number 10, and according to a SKY News report the actress commented: that she was "outstandingly optimistic" and although she could not reveal the outcome of the meeting, the Prime minister said that "she was allowed to smile a lot." Rights to live in the UK were granted five years ago to those Gurkhas who served at least four years and retired after 1997. However, these rights did not apply to those who had left the service prior to 1997. The formidable actress, 62, whose father served alongside the Gurkhas for 30 years, spearheaded the campaign 9 months ago and has previously declared that she was “ashamed of the Government” and “the treatment of the Gurkhas has been a huge injustice.” Joanna Lumley met with Gordon Brown earlier this month to put pressure on the Government to revise the law and grant them the right to live in the UK. In an astonishing twist, just hours following that meeting, letters were sent to the war veterans stating their application to remain in the UK had been refused according to a report in the Sun. The victory will give 36,000 veterans and their families’ permission to settle in the UK but the take-up is expected to be significantly lower. Campaign lawyer David Enright said:

"We think it's more or less a fait accompli but we have had several false dawns before.”

"Although everyone here is celebrating, I'm not going to celebrate until I know for sure."

The Home Secretary is due to announce the outcome of the meeting in the House of Commons today at 12.30 BST.