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”, fuelled by the stereotype of them as practising “a backwards or undeveloped way of life”.
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The report highlighted the role of the UK national government “and specifically the Scottish Office as a primary actor in the construction and enforcement of such policies”.
But it said local councils, churches and charities were also involved in “constructing the environment” that allowed it to happen.
Following its publication, the Church of Scotland also issued “a heartfelt and genuine apology for these historic wrongs”.
In a statement to Holyrood, Mr Swinney told MSPs: “It is clear to the government that stark prejudice and lack of cultural awareness led to a series of unfair and unjust policies.
“These policies resulted in children being removed from families, and families were forced to live in substandard accommodation and degrading conditions.
“The trauma that this has caused to individuals, families and groups, including those who regard themselves as ‘victims of tinker experiments’, is significant and lasting”.
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With some members of the community watching on from Holyrood’s public gallery, Mr Swinney added: “As First Minister of Scotland, I want to say this directly to gypsy traveller communities: the ‘tinker experiments’ should not have happened.
“These policies were wrong. And we recognise how much it is still hurting so many.
“And more than anything else, I want to say this – on behalf of Scotland, we are sorry.”
He added there was “still much to do” in tackling the prejudice the community continues to face.
