Gurkhas defeat for government
By Alex Stevenson
Government resistance on the Gurkhas has finally come to an end, with Jacqui Smith telling MPs veterans have been given the right to settle in Britain.
In a statement the home secretary told the Commons all those with at least four years’ service would be given settlement rights.
It follows a sustained campaign which saw the government defeated in a Commons vote for only the fourth time since Labour came to power 11 years ago.
Campaigner and actress Joanna Lumley met with prime minister Gordon Brown in Downing Street this morning to hear the news before MPs are told of the decision.
She told reporters outside No 10 “it couldn’t be a better day”.
Initially the government had rejected campaigners’ claims that initial concessions would campaigners claim would only have let in a few hundred of the Gurkhas who retired before 1997.
Today, however, the Home Office acknowledged its fears about the cost of Gurkhas heading to Britain were largely unfounded.
“I agree there has been a very effective campaign on this issue,” Ms Smith told MPs.
She insisted the government had done more than the Conservatives for the Gurkhas, however, adding: “The policy we are announcing today builds on the record of this government.”
Shadow home secretary Chris Grayling attacked Ms Smith, however, saying: “It is just a shame the government had to be kicking and screaming. before they finally accepted the inevitable.”
And Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman Chris Huhne lamented the way “dither and delay on this scale only emphasis the gracelessness of this process and this decision”.
He added: “The government’s moral arteries have been somewhat furred.”
Gurkha veterans thought they had won victory when the high court ruled in their favour against the government.
But last month the Home Office’s proposals outraged campaigners. They laid out a series of conditions much higher than requirements for other overseas personnel, including 20 years’ service, awards for gallantry or a serious war wound.
Labour MPs stayed away from the Commons for the crucial vote, resulting in a humiliating defeat for the government.
Immigration minister Phil Woolas remained resistant, however, arguing the public did not appreciate the potential costs of allowing Gurkhas to arrive in Britain.
A further PR disaster in the form of an impromptu press conference with Ms Lumley highlighted the hostility he faced.
One of the most prominent Labour backbenchers in the Gurkha campaign, who negotiated with the government before the Commons vote, was Reading MP Martin Salter.
Giving his verdict, he said: “This is an example when members of parliament across the House. did the right thing by people who are prepared to risk their lives for their country, and I thank the government and home secretary for having belatedly seen the light.”
