“Does the government really want to pick a fight with Joanna Lumley six weeks before a general election?”

Joanna Lumley and Peter Carroll, founder of the Gurkha Justice campaign, are to hold a press conference tomorrow to respond to criticism of the campaign.

From yesterday’s Independent:

Joanna Lumley today hit out at what she claimed was a Government smear campaign that saw her accused of “deathly silence” over Gurkhas’ rights.

Earlier this month, defence minister Kevan Jones expressed “irritation” with the actress amid claims that Nepalese veterans had been misled and exploited. “Her deathly silence, frankly, irritates me,” he said.

But in a letter circulated today, Ms Lumley denounced the allegations.

Signed by the actress, campaigner Peter Carroll and legal advisers Howe & Co Solicitors, it reads: “We feel that these comments are part of a set of actions that constitutes a broader attempt to taint the widely-welcomed positive outcome of the Gurkha Campaign.”

Last year, after a lengthy battle spearheaded by Lumley, MPs agreed to throw out rules that prevented retired Gurkhas from settling in the UK.

But recently questions have been raised concerning the advice given to those wishing to make the move.

Read the full story here.

Peter Carroll, Liberal Democrat PPC for Maidstone and the Weald said,

Does the government really want to pick a fight with Joanna Lumley six weeks before a general election? We cannot understand the motivation for this unless it is a massive outbreak of sour grapes. [Times]

Read more by or more about , , or .
This entry was posted in News.
Advert

One Comment

  • Stephen Hardy 28th Mar '10 - 11:00pm

    Go for it Peter. How stupid of Labour, to want to shoot themselves in the foot. Just the boost you need to take Maidstone; go for it.

Post a Comment

Lib Dem Voice welcomes comments from everyone but we ask you to be polite, to be on topic and to be who you say you are. You can read our comments policy in full here. Please respect it and all readers of the site.

To have your photo next to your comment please signup your email address with Gravatar.

Your email is never published. Required fields are marked *

*
*
Please complete the name of this site, Liberal Democrat ...?

Advert

Recent Comments

  • Paul Holmes
    I can though very much agree with what you say about Clegg. But of course he, Laws, Alexander etc were very much classic Economic Liberals favouring lower taxe...
  • Paul Holmes
    Mick, ref rewriting history, I certainly have different historical memories to you! On LD Voice we often hear misty eyed memories of the great days of the po...
  • Nick Baird
    Obviously getting people into work is a good thing, but the problem with Milburn's disability proposal is it assumes there are significant numbers of disabled u...
  • Peter Chambers
    I quite agree with Caron. My son obtained a Statement for special educational needs. He was put on a queue, but never had quite enough points to be given a slot...
  • Jans
    Speaking from my personal experience (Scotland), I think we need to be saying something about reforming the way the Children’s Panel system currently operates...