Gurkhas march on No 10 and plead: 'Let us stay'

Actress Joanna Lumley rallied the crowd in Parliament Square before leading a procession to hand a 250,000-name petition to 10 Downing Street.

Miss Lumley, 62, whose father, Major James Lumley, fought alongside Gurkhas for 30 years, has been campaigning alongside the Daily Express crusade to ensure all former Gurkha soldiers have the right to live in Britain.

She told the crowd: “This whole campaign is a group effort and I am just the person whose head is above the parapet.

“But this is the day where we can show Government the overwhelming support there is in this country for the Gurkhas’ cause.

“The signatures we have are just a small section of this country but I believe everyone backs us.

“People everywhere I go stop me to ask about the campaign.

“They shout in the street, they wave from buses and buildings, even children call out from schools and they all want to talk about the Gurkhas. The public feels that denying these heroes the right to be here is intolerable with the British way of living and believing.

“Today we go to Downing Street to say ‘we do hope you haven’t misjudged the feeling in this country, we want you to restore the feeling of honour and help us, once again, to be proud to be British’.”

The Gurkhas, who are recruited in Nepal, have been fighting for Britain since 1815. Dubbed “the bravest of the brave” they have won 13 Victoria Crosses.

In the wake of a High Court ruling, the Gurkha Justice Campaign wants measures to be introduced to give Gurkhas who are retired or were discharged from the Army before July 1, 1997, the automatic right to settle in the UK, instead of only those after that date.

Hundreds of members of the Gurkha community attended the emotional rally, including two Victoria Cross winners, Tul Bahadur Pun, 87, and Latchhiman Gurung, 91.

During the event, 100 Gurkha war heroes and their families laid wreaths at the Cenotaph to honour fallen comrades.

A frail Mr Gurung, who lost his right arm in the Second World War and is now wheelchair-bound, stood to lay his wreath.

MPs from all three main parties attended the rally along with Born Free actress Virginia McKenna, 77, whose husband, Bill Travers, was a major in the 9th Gurkhas.

Retired Gurkha Dhan Gurung, who is a British citizen and a councillor in Folkestone, Kent, led a two-minute silence in memory of Colour Sergeant Krishnabahadur Dura, 36, and Rifleman Yubraj Rai, 28, who died in Afghanistan this month. He said: “The Gurkhas always sacrifice their life, in the past and in the present, for this country.

“How can anyone say they have no strong ties to this country? They should be honoured properly without further delay.”

Mr Gurung added: “I would personally like to thank the Daily Express for the coverage on this issue, on behalf of all the Gurkhas.

“All support is needed and the Daily Express is leading the way.”

Tory MP David Davis said: “It’s not often in politics that you’re shocked. But I was when I heard  a judgement that said a man who had won a Victoria Cross couldn’t live here.

“There is a debt of honour to these men in this country.”

The Home Office says that all Gurkha cases will be reviewed by the end of the year.