Oh Joanna..!!!

One of the defining stories of the last year of Gordon Brown's Government was the spat between Joanna Lumley and the Government over the way ex-Ghurka soldiers were (or were not) permitted to settle in the UK.

The fragrant Ms Lumley comprehensively out-manouvred various Ministers and Government Departments and the Labour Government came out looking foolish and nasty and the villian of the piece.... David Cameron and other opposition figures made much of their sympathy with the Ghurkas and Joanna and said how thoroughly rotten we were to stop all of them migrating here forthwith.

Well here's a wee surprise: in a not-much-commented-upon article in the Observer at the weekend, Mark Townsend and Toby Helm reveal that "Gurkha regiment faces axe ........" It seems that the ConDems are looking at abolishing the Regiment Of Ghurkas altogether...

It seems that, now that they have permission to settle in the UK, the Tories don't really need them any more...