JOANNA LUMLEY - LUMLEY BLASTS BRITISH GOVERNMENT

LUMLEY BLASTS BRITISH GOVERNMENT

Actress JOANNA LUMLEY has slammed the British government for failing to honour a court ruling allowing Gurkha veterans the right to remain in the country.
The Indian-born star, whose father fought alongside the Gurkhas in the British army, has long campaigned to allow former Nepalese Gurkha soldiers to stay in the country.
The Gurkhas won a ruling at the High Court in London in October (08), that allowed up to 2,000 of them to stay in Britain.
But the U.K. government has so far failed to honour the ruling - and a furious Lumley turned up at London's High Court on Tuesday (17Mar09) to lead a new legal bid to force the Home Office to take action.
She says, "It is disgraceful that our democratic Government has refused to listen to the will of the people.
"The ruling last year was clear and the way that successive governments have treated Gurkhas who retired before 1997 is truly offensive and a stain on our national character.
"These are men who have served in the British Army, sometimes for 20 years and more, and some have won our country's highest honours for valour and service."