A HIGH Court battle is being waged today over thousands of Gurkhas’ pension payments.

The legal action has been launched over what campaigners describe as “continued discrimination” against veterans who served in the British Army prior to July, 1997.

A “small but significant” group do not receive a monthly pension payment equal to that of a similar ranking UK-born soldier they served alongside, says the British Gurkha Welfare Society.

The society, which has brought judicial review proceedings against the Ministry of Defence, said in a statement: “Whereas Gurkhas who are currently serving receive an equal monthly pension payment to their UK counterparts, about 24,000 Gurkhas (and their dependants) who served in the Army before 1997 receive an inferior monthly pension equating to about a third of that received by their UK counterparts.

“Worse still, it is estimated that about 7,000 Gurkha veterans who served for less than 15 years receive no pension at all, and around 5,000 veterans and widows currently rely heavily on charity from the Gurkha Welfare Scheme to survive,”

General Secretary Chhatra Rai said: “It is an insult that the Gurkhas are yet again forced to take the British Government to court.”