Harman pledges to relax Gurkha rules

Harriet Harman today announced that concessions would be made to end the Gurkha row.

The Commons leader gave a cast-iron pledge that the Government would relax the restrictions on the former soldiers being allowed to settle in Britain. She told MPs: "We did take action in 1997 but the public and Parliament want us to do more and we will."

Downing Street appeared to signal key aspects of the new policy would effectively have been decided within weeks as a backlog of 1,500 cases of ex-Gurkhas seeking to remain in the UK is dealt with by the end of this month. But Keith Vaz, Labour chairman of the Commons home affairs select committee, and who helped inflict a defeat on the Government on the issue last week, today urged Gordon Brown to clarify what he agreed in his meeting yesterday with actress Joanna Lumley who is spearheading the Gurkha campaign.

She claimed the Prime Minister had pledged to come up with a solution by the end of the month. But Downing Street said new proposals were only due "by the summer recess" which starts on 21 July.

Lib-Dem leader Nick Clegg called on Mr Brown to announce the policy. Mr Vaz's committee has called for all retired Gurkhas who served with the British Army before 1997 to be allowed to settle here.