The Gurkha ruling is shameful

Anthony

Does the Tory Party plan to reverse the government's (undoubtedly shameful)position when in office?

Inquiring minds would be interested to know.

While we're on the matter, it should be made far easier for Gurkha veterans to settle in the UK, should they wish to (obviously, many don't). As far as I can tell (unless the situation has changed recently), as soon as they're out of uniform the powers that be want nothing more than to stick them on a ship back to Nepal. When one considers some of the people of "exotic" political and social opinions we allow to come over and live here, it seems like a case of mistaken priorities.

Chuck Unsworth

I've an enormous affection and admiration for the Gurkhas. We have treated them shamefully for many years. Time for them to consider whether they wish to continue defending a nation which treats them with such contempt.

They'd be better off being mercenaries.

Mr Mhena

The Ghurkas are brilliant and I welcome the post 1997 ruling.
However, these people knew the arrangement before and during their service and they freely entered into that service.
How is it shameful to honour an agreement?

Temple Melville

Shameful in every respect.I am the vice chairman of the Gurkha Welfare Trust in Scotland, and we are doing a Gurkha Highlander walk from Mallaig to Stonehaven in August. Please donate online ( and for further information on the GWT) at www.gwt.org.uk.
Thank you

Austin Barry

What a sad little country we've become - sticking the boot into the Ghurkas while accommodating, in every sense of the word, aircraft hi-jacking Afghans, undeportable terrorists and a rag-bag of illegal-alien criminals.

Chuck Unsworth

Mr Mehna

It's shameful to exploit people - but maybe you don't think so. Perhaps in your world treating people justly and with decency and honour simply doesn't happen.

An agreement which is entirely imbalanced or one sided is simple exploitation.

Max

Shameful indeed when Brown can spend £70 billion on management consultants and promise £10 billion to Shakira to "educate the world.".

I hope Cameron reverses this shabby decision as soon as he becomes PM.

Max
http://theerrorlog.blogspot.com

Silent Hunter

Just another reason to get rid of Brown and the shameful New Nasty Party.

Perhaps we could ask the Gurkha's to stage a coup for us? :O)

I for one, would prefer to see New Labour ousted in a bloodbath (theirs) rather than the more prosaic General Election.

Water

"they have done more for the UK than most people ever will" this is true and in comparison to some of the people that have been let in, well (and this one reason why I feel British troops should get paid more). This said, feelings aside, I can appreciate why a hard line needs to be taken with issues such as this. Though, unless such a hard line was taken with those less respectable then the Ghurkhas (which it hasn’t), who are despicably harboured none the less, it does seem shameful, though by NO means shameful for the MoD who are overstretched and underfunded (though a more urgent priority must surely be to better equip ill-equipped soldiers currently serving, whose lives are at risk. At least these good Ghurkhas are no longer at risk of loosing their lives in the field of battle due to having poor equipment).

Though I see where Mr Mhena is coming from, strictly speaking; is this a somewhat shameful yet necessary measure (considering their initial agreement) or just shameful per se. My instincts would tell me shameful considering they “were just as prepared to sacrifice their lives for our country as any other soldier”, but Mr Mhena point does resonate (given their prior consent), but it isn’t something I admit readily. Though the £4,650 that a Ghurkha “who retired in 2007 on medical grounds with 17 years' service” gets may indeed get them further in Nepal then the £6,400 would for a British solider in this country.

But none the less I join Peter in saying “I, for one, hope that delivers the result they want, because we somehow seem to harbour all the anarchistic dregs of the civilized and un-civilized world. At the very least, past heinous errors as far as spending is concerned, taken into consideration, should allow them some latitude. A simple answer would be to send back (and shown no leniency towards) some of the foreign scum we harbour in this country and divert the funds that would be spent on them to the Ghurkhas. None the less I’m no expert on “Airwave digital radio system[s]” so I’m somewhat hesitant in agreeing that that was an unnecessary expenditure.

Richard

The Gurkhas covered 3% of the British Army,they served in far east before 1997,their service counted only between 24-36% in fraction,how this Goverment treat Gurkhas like that. Gurkhas are human not a metal,if you cut their skin red blood will flows, give them every day month year serve in our Armed forces not in fraction.

Ray

It would be interesting to see how our treatment of the Gurkhas compares with France's treatment of its Foreign Legion veterans.

Perry

Sums up Nooo-Lying-Boring Britain : accommodatingly weak-at-the-knees when dealing with hoodlums, plotters (especially imported), and villains.

Vindictive, rulebook bound, petulant and prissy when it comes to heroes.

And again I ask, with no hope of any sensible answer : who is there to turn this nonsense back?

Nicholas

The 1997 ruling is designed to prevent a flood of claims from other nationals who loyally served the British in the armed forces and disciplined services for many years in Hong Kong. Not all of them welcomed the transfer of sovereignty.

Peeved Perry

Sums up Nooo-Lying-Boring Britain : accommodatingly weak-at-the-knees when dealing with hoodlums, plotters (especially imported), and villains.

Vindictive, rulebook bound, petulant and prissy when it comes to heroes.

And again I ask, with no hope of any sensible answer (WAS MY FIRST ATTEMPT NOT ACCEPTABLE?) : WHO is there to turn this nonsense back?

Verity

God, I hate the socialists. Those men are outstanding fighters and they were on our side. They should be rewarded honourably.

Perry - good point. In fact, the left seems to hate heroes. I wonder why.

Silent Hunter

Verity and Perry:

The answer to your question is that the New Nasty Party are Scum without a shred of honour.

But please don't conflate them with being 'left'.

True left has honour - remember the International Brigade who fought fascism in Spain.

New Labour are products of Thatcherite policies......there isn't a leftie left amongst them. Apart from perhaps the 83 year old activist, Walter Wolf; and they threw him out of their conference for .....dissent! LOL

Water

Ahh yes the Ghurkhas are heroes you can't deny that.

Water

"But please don't conflate them with being 'left'" ok but they represent what is the left at the moment and what is the left at the moment...not worth voting for in my opinion.

Ian Wingrove

It's nice to see our incompement rulers have voted themselves a larger trough but refused the Gurkha's claim.

logdon

This country is a bloody disgrace. These guys walk hundreds of miles to join the British Army, such is the loyalty and old time regard for our Queen Then our bastards in Gov dumps on them from on high with this. As other posters have commented, we allow many Muslims who have zero fealty in any shape or form apart from the money into our country and they are treated as an endangered species. Right now the subject of shariah is raising it's ugly head despite the obvious objections and dangers of this foothold into our justice system. Islamophobia is another I noticed today, quite forgetting the aggression emanating from mosques around the land towards the jews and kuffar. So the message is if you show an almost fanatical loyalty you are treated as second class. Attack, threaten and constantly agitate and Britain's your oyster. Pathetic!!! How to totally ruin a once great country in ten years. They have to go.

logdon

And how many million of taxpayers money allocated to Pakistan this week? Double the previous amount despite all warning that it will achieve zero results and could well end up in Taliban and warlord hands. How they must giggle in Waziristan?

Gp brad

people are being allowed into this country who have done nothing to to deserve the benefits that they claim yet these marvellous brave men who fought beside our fighting men through the wars are being victimised I feel ashamed to be British the people at the head of government should put their heads together and find a solution this country is going downhill so fast because of all the immigrants that are here claiming benefits that the likes of us worked for yet these wonderful brave men who put there lives on the line and still do for this country are not allowed to stay with there hard working families , send back the terrorists and the easy riders and let us have decent people in this country who respect the laws and live in peace with us they should round up those who wish to harm the fabric of this country with their families and send them back where they originate from.