He added: “Notwithstanding the savings that could be made by increasing the future monthly pension payments for Gurkhas, this is above all a moral issue as the majority of Gurkha veterans in this group are now becoming increasingly old and fragile.

“Most of these Gurkhas are therefore not able to work in their old age to supplement their pension.”

George Howarth, Labour MP and primary sponsor of a Parliamentary motion supporting an improved Gurkha pension, commented: “The fact that this small but significant group of veterans are still discriminated against shows that there is still more to do to ensure that the Gurkhas are treated properly.”

Conservative MP Ann Widdecome, a long-time champion of the Gurkhas, said: “The Gurkhas have always been an integral part of the British Armed Forces, fighting the same wars and carrying out the same duties as British soldiers.

“It is an injustice to give these veterans a pension based on their country of origin, instead of the country in whose Army they loyally served.”

A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: “Over the course of a retirement, Gurkha soldiers will receive the same amount of pension as their British counterparts.

“Gurkha pensions can be paid from the age of 33, 20 years before British pensions begin.

“That means a Gurkha rifleman will already have received approximately £40,000 by the time he is 60.”