Title: Ex-Gurkhas win court battle in UK

Ex-Gurkhas win court battle to settle in UK:-

KATHMANDU, Sept 30 - Former Nepalese Gurkha soldiers on Tuesday won a court battle on their bid for the right to settle in Britain, their lawyers said.
According to the new wire service AP, lawyers for the men who fought alongside British troops in battles over 200 years said: ";Today we have seen a tremendous and historic victory for the gallant Gurkha veterans of Nepal.

";This is a victory that restores honour and dignity to deserving soldiers who faithfully served in Her Majesty';s armed forces. It is a victory for common sense; a victory for fairness; and a victory for the British sense of what is ';right';.";

They were challenging immigration rules which said that those who retired from the British Army before 1997 did not have an automatic right to stay.
Prominent supporter actress Joanna Lumley said it was a ";chance to right a great wrong";. The government said it would now review all Gurkhas'; cases.

The Gurkhas in this test case represented approximately 2,000 others who were refused entry to the UK because the Government said they had failed to demonstrate ";strong ties"; to the UK.

The judge, Mr Justice Blake, made clear that the long military service of these men, their wounds sustained in battle, their conspicuous acts of bravery, their acts of gallantry and their commitment and loyalty to the Crown all point to an unquestionable historic ";moral debt of honour"; and gratitude which the ordinary people of Britain embrace and celebrate.

Martin Howe, of solicitors Howe and Co, said the case had brought ";a torrential outpouring of affection and concern"; from the ordinary British public towards the old warriors from the hills of Nepal.

";The bonds of affection and ties of loyalty between the people of this country and the men from the Brigade of Gurkhas, who have unswervingly served this country for 200 years, has never been stronger.”

Hundreds of Gurkhas packed the courtroom to hear Mr Justice Blake give his ruling.

They were represented by five claimants, including a wounded Falklands veteran, Lance Corporal Gyanendra Rai, 52, and Gulf War veteran Rifleman Birendra Man Shrestha, 46, along with a Gurkha widow. All had applied to settle in the UK, but were refused entry by British Entry Clearance officers at the British Embassy in Kathmandu and the British High Commissions in Hong Kong and Macau.

";Today we have seen a tremendous and historic victory for the gallant Gurkha veterans of Nepal,"; AP quoted one lawyer as saying, after the High Court ruled in favour of the Gurkhas, some 2,000 of whom could be effected by the verdict. ...