David Chadwick, MP for Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe, has urged the UK Government to urgently address pension inequalities affecting Gurkha veterans who retired before 1997.

The veterans, many of whom now live in local communities, continue to receive significantly lower pensions under the outdated Gurkha Pension Scheme (GPS). This scheme, based on Indian Army rates, pays only a fraction of the pensions received by other British Army veterans.

Gurkhas have served as an integral part of the British Army for more than 200 years, fighting in two world wars and, in the past five decades, in conflicts across Hong Kong, Malaysia, Borneo, Cyprus, the Falklands, Kosovo, Iraq, and Afghanistan.

Mr Chadwick highlighted the injustice that these veterans, who fought alongside British forces in every major conflict, have not received equal pensions.

Speaking after joining Gurkha veterans demonstrating in Parliament Square, Mr Chadwick said: “It is unacceptable that Gurkha soldiers who served before 1997 and put their lives on the line for our country have been denied equal pensions, leaving many in poverty here in the UK, including in communities such as Brecon, where Gurkha veterans and their families have made an enduring contribution.

“I will continue to stand against this injustice and use my voice in Parliament to fight for all Gurkhas, regardless of the date of retirement, to be granted full access to the Armed Forces Pension Scheme on an equal footing."

The MP has submitted a Parliamentary Early Day Motion (EDM) calling for all Gurkha veterans, regardless of retirement date, to receive full access to the Armed Forces Pension Scheme on an equal, year-for-year basis. The EDM has attracted cross-party support.

Mr Chadwick has written to Veterans Minister Alistair Carmichael seeking a meeting and urging the Government to reconsider its pension transfer offer, which he calls “inadequate and financially punitive.”