Ab Fab star Lumley goes into battle for Gurkha veterans

SHE is an icon of the small screen whose distinctive voice has added a certain gravitas to a host of campaigns and charities.

But yesterday Joanna Lumley sailed into battle in support of a cause close to her heart – Gurkha veterans fighting for the right to settle in Britain.

The actress brought a touch of glamour to the ordinarily austere surroundings of the High Court in London.

To the skirl of bagpipes playing Cock O' The North, she walked through a guard of honour of Gurkhas in their traditional hats to the steps of the Royal Courts of Justice in London's Strand.

The Absolutely Fabulous star, whose late father, Major James Rutherford Lumley, served with the 6th Gurkha Rifles, knelt before two veteran VC holders in wheelchairs to offer her best wishes for a test case being brought by five Gurkhas and a widow.

A seasoned campaigner, Lumley has backed numerous causes – including wildlife charity Born Free, Comic Relief and the mental health charity Mind – but she has reason more than most to support the Gurkhas.

"I want to see justice done," she told Lachhiman Gurung, 91, and Tul Bahadur Pun, 86, who served with her father during the Second World War in Burma.

In 1944, Mr Pun saved the lives of several of his fellow soldiers, including Lumley's father, as they faced Japanese machine-gunners in Burma.

Lumley, 62, said: "Ever since I was a small child, this man has been my hero. I hope we will see justice."

She told the hundreds of supporters outside the courts: "I am so happy to be able to lend my support to your cause."

More than 2,000 Gurkhas are challenging a tribunal ruling on their immigration status that means those who retired before 1997, when their base moved from Hong Kong to Kent, cannot automatically claim citizenship in the UK.

Those who retired before that date, and had their cases decided by visa officials in Kathmandu and Hong Kong, must apply for permission to stay and may be refused and deported.

Other foreign nationals in the British Army have a right to settle in Britain after four years of service anywhere in the world.

Speaking through a megaphone outside the High Court, Lumley addressed the crowd with the traditional Gurkha cry "Ayo Ghurkali!" which means "Here come the Gurkhas!"

She added: "My father would be absolutely overwhelmed with shame and fury that we behaved this way to our most loyal and constant friends.

"We have discriminated against them dreadfully and it is a stain on our relationship."

The hearing was adjourned until today.