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Gurkha pension payments 'unfair' Gurkha pension case reaches court
(20 minutes later)
Pensions paid to thousands of Gurkhas who retired before July 1997 are unfair, the High Court has heard. Campaigners representing retired Gurkhas are going to the High Court later in a battle over their pensions.
The veterans get only a third of the monthly amount of UK-based soldiers, campaigners told an appeal case. The appeal concerns 24,000 veterans who served before July 1997 and are entitled to only a third of the monthly payment of their UK counterparts.
The British Gurkha Welfare Society is seeking a judicial review against a ruling backing the Ministry of Defence. The British Gurkha Welfare Society is seeking a judicial review against an earlier ruling in the case.
Government lawyers argue it was lawful to apply pension improvements only to those in the Gurkhas when the regiment moved to the UK 12 years ago. The Ministry of Defence says Gurkha pensions are paid over a longer period and amount to the same final level.
In March 2007, the MoD made it possible for the soldiers to place their pensions into one of the mainstream armed forces schemes. It comes after Gurkha veterans with a minimum four years' service won the right to settle in Britain after a high-profile legal challenge led by actress Joanna Lumley.
But the change did not apply to those who left the service before the Gurkhas base transferred from Hong Kong when the colony was handed back to China.
Lawyers for the MoD are expected to contend the need to promote equality and good relations was taken into account at the time.
'Same risks'
Addressing the court, Declan O'Dempsey, for the society, referred to the legal challenge led by actress Joanna Lumley that resulted in Gurkhas with a minimum four years' service winning the right to settle in the UK.
"At the lowest there is an emerging realisation that Gurkhas should be treated as having a special and equal claim, among other things, to live in the UK," he said.
But he said many of them still believed they were being "unequally treated" by the MoD, despite having "taken the same risks as other members of the British Army".
He said the 1997 move "discriminates against them partly on the grounds of nationality and partly on the basis of their age" and the MoD was failing in its duty to take positive steps to promote "equality of opportunity" between different racial groups.
Commons motionCommons motion
The two soldiers named as lead claimants in the legal challenge, Surbarna Adhikari, from Reading, and Tikendra Dewan, from Farnborough, are claiming damages against the MoD under the Human Rights Act for alleged unequal treatment. The latest case followed an offer by the MoD in March 2007 to transfer Gurkhas' pensions into one of the mainstream armed forces schemes.
The change did not apply to those who retired before 1997, the year the Gurkhas base formally transferred from Hong Kong to the UK.
According to the British Gurkha Welfare Society, those who retired before 1997 have an "inferior monthly pension".
There is still more to do to ensure that the Gurkhas are treated properly and fairly George Howarth MPThere is still more to do to ensure that the Gurkhas are treated properly and fairly George Howarth MP
Before the case British Gurkha Welfare Society general secretary Chhatra Rai said the case affected about 24,000 veterans. It added that there were also about 7,000 Gurkha veterans who served for less than 15 years receive no pension at all and around 5,000 veterans and widows who currently rely heavily on charity from its own scheme.
"This is above all a moral issue as the majority of Gurkha veterans in this group are now becoming increasingly old and fragile," he said. British Gurkha Welfare Society general secretary Chhatra Rai said: "This is above all a moral issue as the majority of Gurkha veterans in this group are now becoming increasingly old and fragile.
"Most of these Gurkhas are therefore not able to work in their old age to supplement their pension.""Most of these Gurkhas are therefore not able to work in their old age to supplement their pension."
Some 94 MPs have supported a House of Commons motion from Labour's George Howarth calling for improved pension rights. Some 94 MPs have supported a House of Commons motion from Labour's George Howarth calling for improved pension rights for the Gurkhas.
Mr Howarth said: "The fact that this small but significant group of veterans are still discriminated against shows that there is still more to do to ensure that the Gurkhas are treated properly and fairly." He said: "The fact that this small but significant group of veterans are still discriminated against shows that there is still more to do to ensure that the Gurkhas are treated properly and fairly."
Meanwhile, the MoD has pointed out that Gurkha pensions are paid over a longer period and can amount to the same final level as their UK counterparts. Another supporter, Conservative MP Ann Widdecome, said: "The Gurkhas have always been an integral part of the British Armed Forces, fighting the same wars and carrying out the same duties as British soldiers.
A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: "Gurkha pensions can be paid from the age of 33, 20 years before British pensions begin. That means a Gurkha rifleman will already have received approximately £40,000 by the time he is 60." "It is an injustice to give these veterans a pension based on their country of origin instead of the country in whose Army they loyally served."
A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: "Over the course of a retirement, Gurkha soldiers will receive the same amount of pension as their British counterparts.
"Gurkha pensions can be paid from the age of 33, 20 years before British pensions begin. That means a Gurkha rifleman will already have received approximately £40,000 by the time he is 60."