U.K. to review gurkha disparity claims

LONDON, Jan. 12 (UPI) -- The U.K. Ministry of Defense will investigate Gurkha soldiers' allegations of unfair treatment in the British army.

Defense Secretary Geoff Hoon said Tuesday that disparities between the terms and conditions of the Nepalese Gurkhas and the rest of the British army will be reviewed, the BBC reported.

Hoon said the review will cover pay, pensions and accommodation.

"We want to ensure that the Ministry of Defense's position, both legally and morally, is beyond reproach," Hoon said. The investigation will decide whether the Gurkhas' terms and conditions are "fair and fit for the modern world," he said.

Members of the regiment have long pushed for rights to British citizenship after their retirement and better conditions during their service.

Gurkhas -- currently numbering around 3,500 -- have fought as part of the British army for almost 200 years. The British first recruited them from hill tribes in Nepal in 1815.

In 1947 four Gurkha regiments from the Indian army were transferred to the British army, eventually becoming the Gurkha Brigade.

One Gurkha retiree claimed his army pension was slightly more than $178 a month -- a fifth of what a British soldier would get.