Ghurka Rifleman PUN VC. Triumph! (Merged)

[Old Ned]

Another MP

Tigs 2,

Also Edward Leigh MP for Gainsborough (Lincs), who as Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee may well prod the right Labour lard a*s.

[Old Ned]

Joanna Lumley

Thought I had your attention.

Following website worth a look www.victoriacross.org.uk/bballman.htm no mention of the "stealing" of this hero's medal though.

Perhaps Joanna L may wish to comment!!

Seems Mr Pun is really Honarary Lieutenant Pun!

[sonoftigs2]

Hello everyone,
Well, you may have guessed from my handle, i am in fact Son of Tigs 2!! So, however old he's had you all believe he is, it's all lies...
I've been following this thread after learning about it all over the weekend from said elder-tigs, and have felt compelled to sign up and try to make a contribution! I've got 8 hours logged towards a PPL too, so I'm not a total aviation ludite! (but almost).
So, for a start i've joined the facebook suppot group (that silly web site all us 'kids' are on, and I have written to our MP in Manchester, Graham Stringer, with one of the example letters I found as follows:

Dear Graham Stringer,
Reference: Tul Bahadur Pun VC
I would be grateful if you'd ask a question of the Home Secretary
regarding the reported refusal of the government to grant Mr. Pun
permission to live in Britain because he has "failed to demonstrate
that [you] have strong ties with the UK" and because 'he had "not
produced satisfactory evidence" that he had a "chronic or long term
medical condition" and that treatment here would significantly improve
his quality of life', despite having heart condition, poor eyesight,
asthma, diabetes and high blood pressure which require daily
medication.
(Source
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/liv...n_page_id=1811).
I'm aware that the Daily Mail isn't the most solid of sources and
perhaps there is more to this story than meets the eye, but with many
'dubious' immigration requests being granted, it seems grotesquely
unfair that a Victoria Cross winner has been refused a home by the
country he was willing to defend with his life.
As Mr. Pun's life potentially hangs in the balance due to his
ill-health, I would request that this question be raised without delay
and the decision to refuse permission to allow this hero entry to the
UK be reversed.
For your information, please find below the citation for Tul Bahadur
Pun's VC:
[citation here]
I very much look forward to you response,
bla bla bla...

I'll let you all know when I get any communication back from him and then maybe one of you can add the MP to the list being compiled on the AARSE web site?

[MReyn24050]

Just emailed Vernon Coaker (Lab) Gedling who is an Under-Secretary of State for the Home Office.
Will publish his response if he sends one.

[Rigchick]

Boing!!! Sent the petition link to everyone in my address book and signed it myself.

How the people that make these decisions can actually sleep at night is beyond me. Let him in NOW!!!!

[grow45]

Joanna Lumley

Message sent via her agent advising of Mr Pun's plight simply asking that she uses any opportunity which might arise to publicise it. Will report back any response.

g45

[TMJ]

Originally Posted by Old Ned

Also Edward Leigh MP for Gainsborough (Lincs), who as Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee may well prod the right Labour lard a*s.

Mr Leigh was, once upon a time, president of the Durham Union Society; I only bring this up because another DUS past-president is the current CGS, General Dannatt. While they were born in the same year, I am not shure whether they were contemporaries at Durham, as I seem to recall hearing that the General did Sandhurst before university.
Anyway, if they were contemporaries I hope they keep in reasonably good touch, as I can't see the head of the Army not being as outraged by this as the rest of us and bringing whatever influence he has to bear.

[Tigs2]

grow45 Nice one

The solicitors handling this case have just requested on ARRSE that the following be sent out to the various forums supporting this campaign.

Dear All

My firm is acting for Mr Tul Bahadur Pun VC (Gurkha Rifles).

We are pulling out all the stops to correct the outrage directed toward this 84 year-old man. However, we could not do this without you all. I am personally trying to read several forums at once, but it is impossible to post on them all. I have asked my friends at ARRSERs (The Army Rumour Service), who are already signed up on your forums, to kindly post this and to thank you for all for what you are doing for my client.

The British public are personally, individually, and collectively, repaying the debt this man (one of the "Bravest of the Brave") is owed by our country.

This is coming from the bottom up. You, the public are leading the politicians and civil servants, and you are the ones righting the wrong which is being done in our name.

My client is fully aware of all the support you have given him. I soon hope you will soon see a photo from him, which he wanted us to send back to the UK, to say that he knows you, the British public, are on his side (even though he is very ill, he got out of bed to make sure that you good people knew that he felt you all "had his back").

Please support our campaign. Petition and email us at: www.vchero.co.uk . All email will go in front of the Immigration Judge considering this case. However, you must bombard your MP and the Government (particularly the Asylum & Immigration Minister, Liam Byrne) about the continuing snub to the Gurkhas who have fought and spilt blood for our country. Rejecting a VC is, sadly, only the icing on their very ugly cake!

Many, many thanks.

Kind regards


Kieran O'Rourke
Howe & Co Solicitors
Ealing, London

Keep the pressure up, there are over 8700 signatories on the petition site. If you read this, please sign the petition.

[liddle]

Gurkha Pun

Excuse the intrusion, but wondered if you might help...........my name's Rod Liddle, a journalist - I wrote a piece about Gurkha Pun in the Sunday Times comment section. Someone posting on here listed a whole bunch of MPs he/she had contacted regarding this story, but I can't find the post. I'd just like to know if any response has been given by any of them - I'm trying to do a follow up for The Spectator. Sorry to be so useless at navigating around your board: good job I'm not a pilot.

All complicated by the fact that I'm on holiday in Malaysia and my deadline is but a few hours away. Any help gratefully received.

[Gweedo]

Rod, Post number 113.
Here it is anyway:
Lead:
Senior Partner, Martin Howe - Howe & Co.
Kieran O'Rourke - Howe & Co Solicitors email: k.orourke @ howe.co.uk
Discussion Forums:
PPRuNe
Rum Ration
Rear Party
RAF Trade website,RAF Armourers: www.bombheadsworld.co.uk/
E-Goat
www.bombheadsworld.co....&t=164
MoD Oracle Forums
Channel Four News Forum
Facebook profile:
www.facebook.com/group...2367521962
!! If your kids use MySpace, Facebook - now is the perfect time to see the power of kids on the internet !!
Link to thread page with PsyWar.Org's Poster to print and display:
www.arrse.co.uk/cpgn2/...t=375.html
British Armed Forces Federation (BAFF)
Media Articles or websites:
Gurkha Petition: http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/gurkhas-rights/
Emails to judge hearing appeal:
www.vchero.co.uk/
www.chindits.info/Awards/VCPun.html
www.thegurkhamuseum.co...act_us.cfm
www.brigadeofgurkhas.co.uk/
www.dailymail.co.uk/pa...ge_id=1811
www.dailyindia.com/sho...urkha-hero
www.mailonsunday.co.uk...1&ct=5
www.timesonline.co.uk/...845263.ece
www.thesun.co.uk/artic...27,00.html
www.thisislondon.co.uk...e+has+no+s
trong+ties+with+UK'/article.do
BBC News 24 - news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4995300.stm
Radio 5 Live phone in Saturday 26 May - evening - Stephen Nolan. www.bbc.co.uk/fivelive...olan.shtml
Jon Gaunt from Talksport has got the story on his website:
www2.talksport.net/pre..._id=100050
Forces Organisations:
Veterans Agency
Public Figures:
The office of HM Queen Elizabeth II
Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II
email address: www.royal.gov.uk/outpu...e4835.asp#
HRH The Prince of Wales
The Viscount Slim
Dr Andrew Hall OBE, HM Ambassador, British Embassy Kathmandu email: britemb @ wlink.com.np
Richard Beeson
MP's contacted (with responses):
www.theyworkforyou.com/
MP for Aberdeen
Michael Howard
Lady Hermon MLA
Steven Webb, the MP for Northavon
Fiona Mactaggart
Julian Brazier MP
Paul Flynn, Labour chappie for Newport West
Norman Lamb MP Sheepshagging North or where ever the hell I am
Iris Robinson
Rev Ian Paisley
Francis Maude MP
Micheal Fabricant
Humfrey Malins MP
Greg Clark (Con)
Andrew Rosindale
Mark Field MP
reg empey (uup)
peter robinson (dup)
Jeremy Hunt MP
John Maples (Conservative)
Bill Olner (Labour)
MP Michael Ancram (hard copy letter)
Gerald Howarth MP (Conservative MP Aldershot) ack 15 mins later.
Linda Gilroy - MP for Sutton, Plymouth?
Celia Barlow MP for Hove (Lab)
James Duddridge - Tory MP for Rochford and Southend East
MP for Salisbury, Robert Key
Siobhan McDonagh MP for Mitcham & Morden
Steven Webb MP
Fiona Mactaggart (Lab)
George Galloway
Alan Ried MP
john reid
David Ammes MP
Tom Watson MP
Russell Brown MP
Derek Twigg MP
Menzies Campbell
Anthony Blair PM
Jeffrey M Donaldson MP DUP for Lagan Valley
Charlie Kennady
Sarah Mccarthy-Fry MP Portsmouth North
Pete Wishart MP
Martin Salter MP for Reading West
Mark Field MP
Jim Fitzpatrick MP - Ack by email.
Ben Bradshaw (Lab)
Alan Duncan MP
Alasdair McDonnell, Belfast South (SDLP)
David Wright (Lab)
Tony Cunningham MP (Lab)
David Cameron MP
Boris Johnson MP
Gavin Strang MP
Heyes ?
Paul Burstow MP
Alex Salmond, First Minister
Annabel Goldie
Sir George Young MP (ack by email)
Lembit Öpik
Angus Macneil MP (replied in mins)
Mark Lancaster TD MP (replied 01:30 - top man)!
Nick Harvey MP
Bob Russell MP
Willie Rennie MP
Media Out:
www.mediauk.com/
- TV
BBC News 24
Sky News
ITV News
C4 News
ITN newsdesk
BFBS NI
Scottish TV News
- Radio
Christian O'Connell of Virgin Radio
Jeremy Vine @ Radio 2
Neil Pringle at BBC Radio Southern Counties Sussex Breakshow
Radio Ulster
96.4 The Eagle - Guildford
SGR FM
Town 102 FM
Radio Devon
- Newspaper
Mick Smith of the Times
Audrey Gillan (Guardian)
Aberdeen Press and Journal
- Internet
"Suggest a Story" link on the BBC News website
www.craigmurray.co.uk/
Home Office email:
www.homeoffice.gov.uk/contact-us

[BEagle]

And Rod, you fellow Sunday Times columnist, Jeremy Clarkson.

[liddle]

Huge thanks for that. This is building up a bit of momentum.......

[Mightycrewseven]

Rod Liddle

FYI, the above list of MPs that Gweedo has posted is slightly out of date. You can add at least another half dozen names to that list since the original post (#113). Just scroll through the pages and find the names of the MPs contacted since.

Regards

M7

[PPRuNeUser0139]

Prompt response from Bill Wiggin MP:

Just received this from Bill Wiggin MP:

"You are right, thank you for drawing this to my attention. I will send
you everything that I get back from the Government.
Bill Wiggin MP
Shadow Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries"

[Dave Unwin]

Have just emailed my MP, Quentin Davies. Like so many others on this forum, I simply cannot believe the way this man is being treated. My grandfather was a professional soldier (Royal Engineers) from 1922 to 1954. His war started in France in 1940 and finished in Burma in 1945. I once asked him who - in his professional opinion - were the best soldiers in the British Army. He replied that the Gurkhas were the best soldiers in any army.

[Mightycrewseven]

Dave

Already emailed Quentin Davies yesterday (see my earlier thread). Have not yet had a reply.

[Dave Unwin]

OK M7. I met him once and he seemed OK. Let's see if we get a response.

[Old Ned]

Don't Forget All Other Ghurkas

V interested to see Rod Liddle's post. This great moral rock keeps rolling along. We all hope and pray that this bunch of , who claim to govern us will allow Mr Pun into the UK, but when they do they will undoubtedly say "Didn't we do well?". There will be no apology for the dreadful refusal in the first place and no acknowledgement of the stress put on this brave old man.

We must not forget all other ghurkas though, they are treated like s**t, even by the army, despite giving their all for this country. They only recently got decent pensions for God's sake! I know that the Argentinians were a little (!) concerned had Ghurkas might be deployed on the FI 25 years ago (how time flies).

Next job is to reunite Mr Pun with his medal when he gets here!

I feel strongly about this!

[Roland Pulfrew]

Ladies and Gents

Just a quick, maybe obvious one, but if you intend to e-mail your MP then remember to include your home address in the e-mail. I have had a reply from my MPs office but as I forgot to include my snail mail address they have asked for proof that he is in fact my MP!!

Apparently it is a parliamentary requirement that MPs only deal with their own constituents letters/e-mail!!

And Boiinng

[ScotsmanCalledPaddy]

Just had a reply from Robert Key MP...

Hello, Patrick. I share your anger. This is not the end of the story.
Good wishes from Robert Key.