As a British citizen, I am incensed to see our Labour Prime Minister squirming out of our responsibility to retired Gurkha soldiers.

In Prime Minister's Question Time last week, Liberal Democrat leader, Nick Clegg held up a British Army long service medal belonging to a retired Ghurka who faces deportation because he's not British. Mr Clegg questioned the government's duty towards these brave soldiers and all Gordon Brown could say was that it is a complicated matter.

What is complicated about showing our gratitude to these extraordinary Nepalese mountain men? What happened to the British code of loyalty to those who would die for us? We are only talking about around 2000 people, who risked all for Britain. Any decent Labour MP should demand Gordon Brown shows some respect or resigns.

As Nick Clegg said during a Gurkha protest outside the Houses of Parliament, "They fought on the front line very bravely in a long list of conflicts - they then retire from the Army and are told they are not allowed to stay in this country. I think this is a simply scandalous way to treat some of the most modest, brave and courageous individuals I have ever met."

My father and Grandfather were both stationed in Malaya during the uprising there and taught me of the brilliance of the Gurkhas - hardy and incredibly brave Nepalese soldiers who have been part of the British army for almost 200 years. As a child, I remember the beautiful but terrifying Gurkha kukri knife on my father's wall - one similar to that carried by Prince Harry in Afghanistan this year. It was the Gurkhas who guarded him there.

Of course, Margaret Thatcher and John Major treated the Gurkhas with even less respect. The Conservative leaders both ignored Gurkha protests about getting one tenth of the standard army pension and denied them British citizenship. Under heavy public pressure, Tony Blair improved their pensions a little and agreed to give residency to those Gurkhas who had retired after 1997. But he too neglected the medal-winning veterans of the Falklands, the first Iraq war and Malaya?

Does facing bullets for Britain mean nothing to our leading politicans? I urge everybody to write to Gordon Brown and David Cameron to agree to Liberal Democrat demands to give these great people the right to remain and the full pension they so bravely earned.

NEVILLE FARMER Wyre Forest Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Spokesman