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LONDON: Former Gurkha soldiers from Nepal are heading to the House of Lords on Monday to support a bill which would cement their right to settle in Britain after a lengthy battle.
The soldiers, alongside campaigners including actress Joanna Lumley, are fighting for a change in the law after Britain's High Court ruled in the Gurkhas' favour in a test case last month.
Currently only Gurkhas who retired in 1997, when their base was moved from Hong Kong to Britain, have the automatic right to settle here. Other foreign troops in the British army can settle in Britain after four years' service.
The bill, which aims to allow more than 2,000 Gurkha veterans who left the army before 1997 to live in Britain, was introduced in the upper house of parliament long before the High Court's ruling.
But ministers still have to pass a law encapsulating the court's ruling. One way of doing so could be for the government to support a bill introduced by Lord John Lee, the Liberal Democrat party's defence spokesman.
Lumley, star of television programmes including "Absolutely Fabulous" and "The New Avengers", said she was "hopeful" it would go through.
"The government has a historic opportunity to put right this terrible wrong. Letting this bill stand will honour our debt," she said.
The star's father, a British army major, fought alongside Gurkha soldiers during World War II.
Lee told AFP that Monday's third reading would be the first time the government reacted in detail to the High Court ruling.
"I think it is assumed that the government will have to change its position" following the court's judgement, Lee said.
He added it was not clear "whether the government accepts my bill or brings in something else" in response to the ruling. The bill has cross-party backing.
Around 3,500 Gurkhas currently serve in the British army, including in Iraq and Afghanistan. Some 200,000 fought in the first and second world wars and more than 45,000 in total have died serving Britain. - AFP/de
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