Rejected Gurkhas offered fresh hope
Legal letters written to five Gurkhas rejecting their applications to live in Britain have "no practical effect", Prime Minister Gordon Brown's spokesman has said.
Gurkha campaigners led by actress Joanna Lumley feared the group of five Gurkhas, including Falklands and Gulf War veterans, would be denied the right to come to Britain.
But the cases will be re-examined under new rules to be published by the end of July.
Immigration Minister Phil Woolas said he was confident all five cases would be resolved in favour of the veterans.
Campaigners delayed the start of an emergency press conference in Westminster while they digested the Government's statement.
Mr Brown's spokesman said the letters explained how the Gurkhas would have been dealt with under the criteria set out by Mr Woolas around a fortnight ago, but had "no practical effect" because a review has since been launched.
The cases will be reassessed under the new guidelines produced as a result of the review and to be published by July 21.
The Prime Minister's spokesman said: "The Home Office had a legal obligation to write to the five individuals who were involved in the judicial review cases to explain to them how they would have been assessed under the old criteria.
"But they are also making clear that the criteria will change and therefore any decisions reached under the old criteria will not be implemented.
"This is nothing more than a consequence of the court decision of a few weeks ago and an obligation on the Home Office to write to the individuals concerned for legal reasons. The criteria are changing, so therefore these letters have no practical effect."
