Tearful Joanna Lumley turns up at High Court to support Gurkha who fought at her father's side

Updated: 18:33 EST, 16 September 2008

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Joanna Lumley wept as she met her childhood hero.

Gurkha Tul Bahadur Pun VC, 87, fought alongside her father, Major James Rutherford Lumley, in Burma during the Second World War, and a picture of him was displayed in the family home.

The actress, pictured with Mr Pun, joined hundreds of veterans as they marched on the High Court, where a hearing began yesterday on behalf of 2,000 Gurkhas to demand the right to live in Britain.

Joanna Lumley wipes away a tear outside the High Court as she joins ex-Gurkha and Victoria Cross winner Tul Bahadour Pun (R) in a protest by former Nepalese Gurkha soldiers.

Their lawyers say the law discriminates against the Nepalese Gurkhas as other soldiers from overseas are allowed to settle here after four years of service.

Only Gurkhas who retired from the British Army after July 1, 1997, when their base was moved from Hong Kong to Kent, can automatically stay in the UK.

Miss Lumley, 62, said: 'My father would be absolutely overwhelmed with shame and fury that we have behaved this way to the Gurkhas, our most loyal and constant friends.'

The clearly emotional Ab Fab star walked through a guard of honour of Gurkhas in their traditional hats to the steps of the Royal Courts of Justice in London's Strand, as bagpipes played Cock o' The North.

She then knelt before two veteran Gurkha VC holders in wheelchairs to offer her best wishes in their test case being brought by five Gurkhas and a widow.

Retired Gurkhas protest against the government's refusal to allow them the right to live in the UK

'I want to see justice done,' she told Lachhiman Gurung, 91, and Mr Pun.

She then told the hundreds of supporters outside the courts which had been turned into a Gurkha stronghold: 'I am so happy to be able to lend my support to your cause.'

The landmark test case will be heard at the High Court today to decide if the Gurkhas should be granted the right to settle here.

Almost 50,000 Gurkhas have died fighting for Britain since 1815 and 150,000 have been seriously injured while serving

Yet thousands of veterans who retired before July 1, 1997, have been forced to live in poverty in their homeland of Nepal.

Hundreds of badly injured soldiers have also been barred from travelling here for treatment.

Gurkhas and their wives and families massed outside the courts holding banners reading: 'Thirteen Gurkhas won VCs but are banned from the UK' and 'We British Gurkhas demand Justice and Equality'.

Earlier, the two veterans had posed for pictures holding a Union flag and a portrait of the Queen.

The protest came before a judge will begin hearing a challenge by more than 2,000 British Army Gurkhas to a tribunal ruling on their immigration status.

Part of the Government's explanation for refusing settlement rights is that some Gurkhas 'lack strong ties with the country'.

The Gurkhas have also struggled for many years for equal pension rights which, for those who retired before 1997, are about a quarter of the level paid to those who served after that time.

Three Gurkhas who lost a court challenge on pensions in July this year are taking their case to the Court of Appeal next month.