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Scottish government apologises for 'cultural genocide' of gypsy travellers
Scotland's First Minister has formally apologised to the gypsy traveller community for the decades of trauma they suffered during the so-called "tinker experiment".
John Swinney said the "unfair and unjust" policies, enforced by councils and the UK government between 1940 and 1980, had been "unacceptable". The "experiment" attempted to strip away the nomadic lifestyle of gypsy travellers by rehousing them in low-quality Nissen-type huts, repurposed military buildings and other disused properties at sites across Scotland.
When families became too big for the cramped accommodation, their children would sometimes be taken away, either into temporary care or permanently – with some adopted in the UK or overseas. Mr Swinney's apology came following the publication of a new independent report published by the Scottish government, which stated: "The context within which the TE [tinker experiment] occurred is best understood as cultural genocide".
The report, based on research from the University of St Andrews, found that the types of accommodation gypsy travellers were relocated to were "known by government agents to be substandard". It said the properties were "frequently without" electricity and running water.
Researchers said the "experiment" was part of a "recurring societal and institutional dehumanisation of gypsy travellers in Scotland.
Amir Nisi
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