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12/10/2011 :Ghurkhas should not be discriminated against on pensions, says Labour:
Ghurkhas discharged from the British Army before 1 July 1997 are being denied pensions, and they - and their widows - discriminated against compared to other British and Commonwealth servicemen, says former Labour Mayor Cllr. Chris Maskell, who is calling on the Council meeting on 18 October to back the Ghurkhas’ case for fair treatment.
“The Ministry of Defence is arguing,” he says, “that because until 1997 the HQ of the Ghurkha Regiment was in Hong Kong, which was then transferred to China, the Ghurkhas who served in the Regiment then are not entitled to British pensions. That’s a lousy trumped-up excuse for failing to meet what really is a debt of honour, a debt owed to brave soldiers who risked their lives for our country.
“The Ghurkha es-servicemen’s association is based in Reading” says Cllr. Maskell, “and the Borough Council led the charge a couple of years ago in insisting that Ghurkhas discharged before 1 July 1997 should have the right to remain in the UK. I hope that all parties will also support their right to a pension too.”
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