'They deserve better': Defence Secretary Ben Wallace says he is 'happy to meet any Gurkha' as public get behind veterans who are on hunger strike over equal pensions
Defence Secretary said he is 'happy to meet with any Gurkha' as former soldiers continue a hunger strike about their pensions outside Downing Street.
The Nepalese-born soldiers are campaigning for equal pensions for Gurkhas who retired before 1997 and are not eligible for a full UK armed forces pension.
The Support Our Gurkhas protesters reached their seventh day of not eating on Friday, while demonstrating opposite Downing Street.
Support Our Gurkhas protester Dhan Gurung holds a teddy bear as he continues a hunger strike during a demonstration for equal pensions
Ben Wallace said: 'I am very happy to meet any Gurkha. My father fought alongside the Gurkhas in Malaya in the 1950s, it is a pretty remarkable group of people'
But Ben Wallace warned that no government 'of any colour' had ever made retrospective changes to pensions similar to the ones the demonstrators are calling for.
Speaking on Sky News, Mr Wallace was asked if he would meet with the demonstrators.
He replied: 'I am very happy to meet any Gurkha. My father fought alongside the Gurkhas in Malaya in the 1950s, it is a pretty remarkable group of people.
Around 200,000 Gurkhas, recruited from Nepal, fought in both world wars, and they have also served in places such as Hong Kong, Malaysia, Borneo, Cyprus, the Falklands, Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan
'The group of people currently protesting are groups affected by the change by the Labour government in 1997 to 2003. This was about people who are under a 1947 pension, it is a very small group of Gurkha pensioners, they had different advantages in their pension scheme in that old scheme.
'That scheme said that you got it after 15 years when a British soldier got it after 22, but there is a difference and they feel that difference needs to be made up.
'That is not the same as the Gurkhas of today or the Gurkhas after 2003, they get exactly the same pensions as British serving personnel, but of course no government of any colour, Labour or Conservative, or coalition, has ever retrospectively changed pensions, that has not been the case.'
Gurkha men, recruited from the rugged Himalayan country of Nepal, have a reputation as hard and loyal fighters, and are known for the trademark curved kukri blades they carry sheathed on their belts
Dhan Gurung also said he and his fellow demonstrators had been 'harassed' by police, who then dismantled a gazebo
Change was brought in after an amendment to immigration rules in 2007, backdated to July 1997, meant more retired Gurkhas were likely to settle in the UK on discharge, whereas the previous pension scheme had lower rates
But the public are getting behind the Gurkha heroes with over 3,000 people, at the time of writing, donating to a Change.org petition to help support the Gurkhas.
One donater wrote: 'They served the country well and deserve better treatment.'
Another wrote: 'I am siging this because i have served with the Gurkhas.
'They have such a special place in every soldiers heart, because they are amazing people and amazing soldiers.'
Around 200,000 Gurkhas, recruited from Nepal, fought in both world wars, and they have also served in places such as Hong Kong, Malaysia, Borneo, Cyprus, the Falklands, Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan.
Those who served from 1948 to 2007 were members of the Gurkha Pension Scheme until the Labour government of the time eliminated the differences between Gurkhas' terms and conditions of service and those of their British counterparts.
Serving Gurkhas, and those with service on or after July 1 1997, could then opt to transfer into the Armed Forces Pension Scheme.
The change was brought in after an amendment to immigration rules in 2007, backdated to July 1997, meant more retired Gurkhas were likely to settle in the UK on discharge, whereas the previous pension scheme had lower rates as it had assumed they would return to Nepal where the cost of living was significantly lower.
Mr Wallace was speaking a day after another minister said he was 'unsure' who from Government had met with the protesting Gurkha veterans.
When asked to confirm on Thursday that the Government had been in touch with the protesting group, schools minister Nick Gibb said: 'I'm not entirely sure who has met who but I do know that we are always keen to speak to people who are concerned about the welfare of our Gurkha regiment and the pensions arrangements for those soldiers.'
Mr Gibb had earlier said the Government was 'of course in touch' with the demonstrators.
Nepalese-born Gurkhas staging a protest outside Downing Street are pictured entering their sixth day of hunger strike
The Support Our Gurkhas protesters are campaigning for equal pensions for Gurkhas who retired before 1997 and are not eligible for a full UK armed forces pension
Gurkha veterans have been forced to go on hunger strike because Ministers won't listen to their concerns about pension inequality. My letter to the Defence Secretary urging action for those who bravely served our country👇🏻 pic.twitter.com/M80SSsMMYN
— Stephen Morgan MP (@StephenMorganMP) August 11, 2021
Gurkha veterans have been forced to go on hunger strike because Ministers won't listen to their concerns about pension inequality. My letter to the Defence Secretary urging action for those who bravely served our country👇🏻 pic.twitter.com/M80SSsMMYN
On Wednesday, Labour's shadow defence secretary Stephen Morgan wrote to Mr Wallace and urged him to 'engage constructively' with the Gurkhas.
He added: 'I would urge you to meet with these veterans, as I have in the past and will do so again this week. No veteran of the British Army should have to resort to a hunger strike to be heard.'
Gurkhas taking part in the protest had accused the Metropolitan Police of harassment, and said officers had taken down a gazebo they had set up.
The Met confirmed it had removed the gazebo on Tuesday.
On Thursday, Met chief Dame Cressida Dick said bylaws for the area opposite Downing Street 'do not allow for what might become a permanent encampment'.
Dame Cressida said she has 'a massive amount of respect' for the Gurkhas and that officers were 'extremely polite' and 'extremely professional' and had done 'the right thing'.