HENDON's Labour MP has hit back at criticism over his failure to support a parliamentary motion to give Gurkha veterans settlement rights in the UK.
Andrew Dismore has been branded a “hypocrite” by the prospective Conservative candidate for his seat for voting against the motion last week and then welcoming the result in a letter to his constituents.
The Liberal Democrat motion called for the Government to allow veterans of the Gurkha regiment, who are recruited from their native Nepal, to live in the UK.
The vote was passed after Conservative, Liberal Democrat and rebel Labour MPs voted for it, prompting the Government to reconsider its stance on the controversial situation.
Councillor Matthew Offord, who will fight Mr Dismore for his seat at the next general election, said: "How can he be pleased with the outcome when he sided with the Government to refuse the Gurkhas right to settle in the UK?
"He cannot be a lackey to this discredited Labour Government and then tell his constituents he is sticking up for them. People are not stupid and will see though his utter hypocrisy."
However, Mr Dismore said he had pledged his support to an ammendment that also supported the Gurkha’s rights, but in a more carefully worded way.
He said he had always supported the Gurkhas, but described the Liberal Democrat motion as “a Trojan horse” that opens the doors to unlimited immigration.
Although the motion is not binding on the Government, Mr Dismore said he does not believe in putting his name to anything that he does not believe in, down to the detail.
He said: “It's a Liberal Democrat Trojan Horse, a rather large Trojan Horse. We know the Lib Dems have a rather lapse attitude to immigration. If people voted for this you could say it would open the door to unlimited immigration.
“I’ve stuck my head above the parapet with this. Every campaign the Gurkhas have run I’ve supported. If Offord says he would vote for it he’s a fool.”
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