London, Aug. 29: World-famous Gurkha regiment, part of the British army for almost 200 years, may be among those axed unless the Ministry of Defence’s demands for more money to fund the replacement of Trident nuclear missile submarines are answered.
On Saturday night, hopes for extra funding, however, faded as the chief secretary to the treasury, Mr Danny Alexander, rejected demands for extra money from Tory defence secretary, Mr Liam Fox, and insisted the £20 billion cost of replacing Trident had to be met fully by the MoD, The Observer reported on Sunday.
Quoting an expert, the report said the increasing costs of running the Gurkha’s following actress Joanna Lumley’s high-profile campaign last year to improve their rights, added to the sense that the “writing is on the wall” for the Brigade of Gurkhas, which has 3,640 members.
Mr Fox has been pushing hard for the Treasury to increase the MoD’s budget in some of the toughest negotiations of the spending review aimed at slashing Britain’s £155 billion deficit. The report said despite their fame and public following, the Gurkhas had long been a candidate for cuts.