Brown indicates shift on Gurkhas

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Campaigners said they were cautiously optimistic after Gordon Brown appeared to signal a policy shift on settlement rights for Gurkha veterans.

At Prime Minister's Questions, Mr Brown said it was possible to honour the UK's commitment to the Gurkhas "in a way that protects the public finances".

Campaign lawyer David Enright said victory seemed "a fait accompli, but we have had several false dawns before".

A statement by Home Secretary Jacqui Smith on the issue is due on Thursday.

Before Ms Smith's announcement in the House of Commons on new settlement rules, Mr Brown is due to meet Gurkha campaigner Joanna Lumley at Downing Street.

Some 36,000 Gurkhas, a brigade of Nepalese soldiers who serve in the British Army, were denied UK residency because they left before 1997.

Ms Lumley and other members of the Gurkha Justice Campaign want them to be given the same rights to settle as soldiers from Commonwealth countries who had fought for the UK.

'Brilliantly-fought'

The prime minister suffered a shock Commons defeat on the issue, forcing ministers to reconsider existing rules on how many Gurkhas can settle in the UK.

In response to a question by MP George Howarth, Mr Brown told the House of Commons that he had a "great deal of sympathy and support" for the Gurkhas.

I'm not going to celebrate until I know for sure David EnrightGurkha Justice Campaign

He added: "I believe it is possible for us to honour our commitments to the Gurkhas and to do so in a way that protects the public finances."

On Tuesday, officials from the Home Office and the Ministry of Defence met Gurkha groups at talks hosted by the Home Affairs Committee.

Committee chairman Keith Vaz said he was "very pleased" with how the talks went.

Afterwards, the committee sent a letter to Mr Brown asking for all Gurkhas to be awarded full citizenship rights.

Mr Enright said it was too early to celebrate victory.

He added: "Although everyone here is celebrating, I'm not going to celebrate until I know for sure."

But the Labour MP Martin Salter, who chairs a group of MPs calling for Gurkha rights, said the campaign inside and outside parliament had been "long and brilliantly-fought".

"It has encapsulated the British sense of fair play and forced the Government to look again at a policy that was blatantly discriminatory."