Baudhaman Limbu, 47, a retired Gurkha, above, wears his Falkland and long-service medals during a protest outside Parliament over the Government’s refusal to allow Gurkhas the right to live in the UK. He was among a group of 40 Gurkhas in the British Army who marched to 10 Downing Street yesterday to deliver a petition with 45,000 signatures to Gordon Brown.

A judicial review is to be heard at the High Court today over a decision in 2004 that Gurkhas who retired before July 1997 were not entitled to British settlement rights as their base, now in Kent, was in Hong Kong at the time. The Government also said that some Gurkhas “lack strong ties with the country”. Other foreign soldiers in the Army have a right to settle in Britain after four years’ service anywhere in the world.

Gyanraj Rai, 50, a former sergeant major in the Gurkha Army, who now lives in Reading, said that he was “really very unhappy” during his time as a Gurkha as he did not get rights equal to that of his British comrades.

Peter Beckinsale, 69, from Reading, who was a training NCO alongside Gurkhas in Malay, said: “We felt special alongside the Gurkhas because they are such good soldiers.

“Most of those in the Government have never served a day in their lives and don’t understand comradeship. It is abominable.”

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