Gurkhas seek petition signatures

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/england/kent/7704120.stm

Version 0 of 1.

Former members of the Gurkha regiment seeking the right to stay in the UK have taken their continuing protest to the streets of Folkestone.

The soldiers - originally from Nepal - recently won a High Court battle to stay in the UK.

However, they are hoping to gather a million signatures to try to persuade the government to change the law.

About 100 Gurkhas gathered in the town centre on Saturday, and plan to take their petition to Downing Street.

The Gurkhas are based at Shornecliffe barracks, near Folkestone, after moving from Hong Kong to the UK in 1997.

In 2004, those who retired after that date won the right to stay in Britain but the High Court ruled last month that the government's policy not to honour those soldiers who retired before 1997 was unlawful.