Gordon Brown has confirmed there will be a Home Office statement
tomorrow on the issue of Gurkha settlement.

He said during Prime Minster's Questions in the House of Commons
today: "I believe it is possible for us to honour our commitment to
the Gurkhas and to do so in a way that protects public
finances."

It comes after national newspaper reports today claimed a
government U-turn on the issue was imminent.

The Daily Telegraph claims all former Gurkhas - many of
whom live in Kent - will be given the same right to settle. It said
Mr Brown would signal the new policy in the Commons today and
that would be followed on Thursday by a formal Home Office
statement.

It also said the new rules are expected to place careful
restrictions on residency rights for Gurkhas' relatives and
dependants.

But earlier today, Kent campaigner Peter Carroll said: "We don't
know if this is true yet. We have no inside track on it and they
haven't told us."

Both Downing Street and the Home
Office denied the story on Wednesday morning, saying it was based
on hearsay and speculation.

A spokesperson for the Home Office
said: "We don't have any information and we don't know where
that has come from. We are not responding as there is nothing for
us to respond to."

But Ashford MP Damian Green
reckoned the story was true, as neither government department had
flatly denied it, merely refraining from commenting.

He said: "The Telegraph's
story is clearly a leak from the Government. All I can say is that
the reporter is normally pretty reliable and I had assumed it was
true."

At the end of last month, the
Government suffered a Commons defeat
over limiting the number of soldiers allowed to stay.

Actress Joanna Lumley, whose father was a Gurkha, has been
leading the campaign.

The 2nd Battalion of the Royal Gurkha Rifles is based at Sir
John Moore Barracks in Shornecliffe, near Folkestone.