CAN the New Labour government of the past 12 years stoop any lower? I doubt it.

What do the Gurkha veterans who served have to prove to the Government to have the right, if they choose, to live in the country they and their families have helped defend with fierce loyalty for nearly 200 years and gaining no fewer than 13 Victoria Crosses for distinctive Bravery in battle?

The Government has now come up with new hoops for the veterans to jump through, and claims 3,400 veterans will have the right to live in Britain; according to the Gurkhas, the number will be closer to 100.

What makes all this even worse is the fact that immigrants of all colours and creeds who have done nothing for this country and put nothing into it are given asylum here.

I would urge the Gurkha veterans not to give up the fight for their right to live here if they wish. Within a year or so, Britain will have a new government that hopefully, if it has any honour, will give all Gurkhas equal rights across the board with the rest of the British Army.

The Gurkha motto, “Better to die than be a coward”, says it all about these magnificent fighting men.

Bob Waite, Windmill Rise, Holgate, York.