Joanna Lumley joins Folkestone Gurkha celebrations
18 Jun 2009
From the BBC: Joanna Lumley joined thousands of people to celebrate the Gurkhas being given the freedom of Folkestone, where they are based.
About 10,000 people lined the streets of Folkestone to witness a parade by 630 members of the 2nd Battalion the Royal Gurkha Rifles (2 RGR). The regiment returned from a tour of duty in Afghanistan six weeks ago.
All Gurkha veterans who retired before 1997 with at least four years' service were given permission last month to settle in the UK. The government decision followed a high-profile campaign by Joanna Lumley and other supporters of Gurkha rights - and an embarrassing Commons defeat for the government.
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