Gurkha hero wins star's backing for British rights

LONDON: Well-known British actress Joanna Lumley is backing an ageing Nepalese Gurkha's bid to win the right to live in Britain, revealing that he helped save her father's life, a report said on Thursday.

Lumley, star of the 1970s hit the New Avengers and more recently of hit comedy Absolutely Fabulous, is backing the application of 84-year-old Tul Bahadar Pun, who won the Victoria Cross in World War II.

"I've known the name Bahadar Pun since I was four. He was an absolute hero in my house," the Indian-born actress said, telling how Pun risked his life in 1944 to rescue her father, Captain James Lumley, from Japanese machine gunners.

"I don't know exactly what happened on that battlefield in 1944 because war was so grim back then ... But what I do know is that it was his bravery that saved so many lives, including my dad's," she told the Daily Mirror.

The newspaper reported that Pun's application to live in Britain had been refused, but said his lawyers are due to appeal before the immigration courts in August.

It added that the Gurkha veteran has a heart condition, asthma, diabetes and high blood pressure, and requires daily medication which is not always available where he lives.

"We owe this man a huge debt. It's disgraceful he could be treated so badly by our government," said Lumley.

The Gurkhas -- known for their fierce loyalty, bravery and razor-sharp kukri fighting knives which they carry in battle -- first served as part of the Indian army in British-run India in 1815.

Retired Gurkha soldiers staged a mass protest in London in March over Britain's refusal to give them full pensions and other rights here.