Gurkhas triumph today

Couldn't help but feel a real sense of elation today at Brown's defeat over Gurkha rules.

MPs decided by 267 to 246 to back a Lib Dem motion offering all retired Gurkhas an equal right of residence in the UK, with the Tories and 27 Labour rebels backing it.

Have always felt ashamed the way the various British Governments have treated the Gurkas in the past - they fought and died for this country for Gods sake.

The fight for their right to be treated like any other British soldier has taken years - the lukewarm change in the law in 1987 still denied some 36,000 former Gurkhas who served in the British Army before 1997 UK residency.

Can remember as a child, my father an officer in the India Army telling me his memories about his men (Gurkhas) fighting the Japanese in WW11. Bit graphic some of the stories but in those days they didn't think of the sensitivity of children - nevertheless he always gave them the highest regard - tough little characters he used to say.

The Gurkhas memorial which stands at Whitehall between the Embankment and Horse Guards parade had no real meaning except today.