UK actress Lumley leads new march for Gurkha rights

London, Nov.21 : British actress Joanna Lumley led over 2,000 people in march aimed at winning Gurkha heroes the right to live in the UK.

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

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 verwhelming support there is in this country for the Gurkhas' cause."

The Gurkhas, who are recruited in Nepal, have been fighting for Britain since 1815. 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.

ANI