A four-day hearing on discrimination faced by Gorkha soldiers in the British Army opened in London on 18 February. Cherie Booth, wife of British PM Tony Blair, is representing seven Nepalis who recently retired from military duty in Britain. The plaintiffs allege that Nepali soldiers suffer from racial discrimination and receive less desirable pay, pensions and family accommodation that that enjoyed by other soldiers in the British armed services. If successful, the case could cost of the British Ministry of Defence ?2 billion, which is the estimated cost offering equivalent pensions to 30,000 retired and 3,000 active-duty Gorkhas. Speaking in court, Booth said, ?it is part of a culture in the British Army in which, on the one hand, the Gorkhas are acknowledged to have been loyal fighters to the British Army for 200 years and, on the other hand, are treated as different and inferior.?