Brown apologises to Lumley over Gurkha claims

LONDON - The British Government was forced into an embarrassing damage limitation exercise yesterday as Joanna Lumley angrily insisted claims she had deserted the Gurkhas were lies and smears.

The actress and fellow members of the Gurkha Justice Campaign, famed for driving the Government into a u-turn over settlement rights for the Nepalese veterans, insisted they had been victims of poisonous and defamatory comments as well as a "Stasi-like" investigation.

Veterans Minister Kevan Jones, who accused the actress three weeks ago of "deathly silence" over allegations that a welfare organisation was taking money from veterans for providing misleading information, was forced to apologise yesterday, and the Prime Minister spoke to Lumley.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown, his office said, had expressed his regret in a telephone conversation to the actress, in which he read out a statement from Jones saying: "I apologise unreservedly for any offence caused to Joanna Lumley by my remarks to the Home Affairs Committee - this was not intended."

Lumley and her supporters broke their silence to rebut claims they misled Gurkha veterans, who were now turning up in the UK destitute and reliant on service charities.

Lumley said: "It has been suggested that I somehow spread falsehoods among the Gurkha communities both here and in Nepal about what they could expect. That is a lie and therefore a smear."

Peter Carroll, of the Gurkha Justice Campaign, added: "There has been a steady drip of negativity being put into this story by what we presume to be vested interests at the MoD".

- INDEPENDENT