Pressure mounts on Scottish Government to pay reparations to victims of Tinker Experiment

The Scottish Human Rights Commission has become the second group to insist compensation is paid to those affected by decades of forced assimilation and resulting on-going harm.

The call comes after a government-commissioned report from St Andrews University academics that also said payments should be made.

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Scotland’s Gypsy Travellers saw their children removed and were housed in substandard accommodation as part of efforts by the government and councils to forcibly assimilate the community, evidence shows.

Last year, First Minister John Swinney issued an apology to the community.

The SHRC’s new report, No Man’s Land, is a human rights examination of what was called the Tinker Experiment, drawing on legal analysis, archival evidence and victim testimony.

Professor Angela O’Hagan, chair of the SHRC, said: “Victims were forced to give up their culture and in some cases their children.

“The apologies are vital, but are not enough on their own.

“Scotland must now put things right and support those who continue to live with the harm.

“Scotland now has the opportunity to lead internationally in how states address forced assimilation, cultural harm as well as the long-term impact and the continued perpetuation of discriminatory legislation and policies.”

The SHRC is now calling for a programme of reparations for Scotland’s Gypsy Travellers for harms caused during the 19th and 20th centuries.

The human rights organisation says victims of the programme are still living with the consequences, including unsafe housing, cultural loss, discrimination, stigma, poor health outcomes and barriers in education and employment.

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Its report claims these ongoing impacts amount to a continuing human rights issue under human rights laws and obligations.

Research shows the Scottish Office, local councils, the Church of Scotland and charitable organisations all played a role in the removal of children, who were placed in institutions and, in some cases, suffered mistreatment.

The SHRC report finds Gypsy Travellers also faced forced assimilation policies that compelled them to abandon their culture and nomadism.

It points to substandard housing offered to the community members and outlines ongoing discrimination and stigma from public authorities and the wider public.

This, it concludes, has caused intergenerational trauma and cultural loss.

A Scottish Government spokesman said minister are “improving the lives of Gypsy/Traveller communities in Scotland through the second Gypsy/Traveller Action Plan”.

Calls for a public apology from the Scottish Government lasted for at least 15 years.

In 2022, the government commissioned a report from the Third Generation Project, a think tank based at St Andrews University.

There were delays in releasing the report, which was eventually leaked online by Dr Lynne Tammi-Connelly, a campaigner and descendent of Travellers whose children were forcibly transported to Canada in the early 20th century.

Last June, when the report was leaked online, Dr Tammi-Connelly claimed that government officials had sought to remove research linking Professor Wolfgang Abel, a Nazi eugenicist, to leading figures in the British establishment as well as the charity now known as Children First.

Dr Tammi-Connelly was contacted for comment.

It is understood the Scottish Government had concerns about the tone of the report, which also called for reparations to be paid alongside any apology.

The St Andrews University report said: "The Tinker Experiment was initially thought to be a series of largely government-sanctioned and led policies for the forced housing of Gypsy/Traveller families in substandard accommodation and on substandard sites, across Scotland that 'may have also resulted in the forced removal of children from Gypsy/Traveller communities'.

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“Our research uncovered that this relationship was much more significant and indeed represented a forced and systematic initiative to remove Gypsy/Traveller children from their families and communities, either combined with forced housing policies or happening concurrently alongside them."

The SHRS acknowledges the apologies from Mr Swinney and those of Perth and Kinross Council and the Church of Scotland.

However, the report concludes victims are still living with the consequences and continuing human rights issues.

Human rights standards require remedy and reparation for victims of human rights violations.

The SHRC is now also calling for what it terms “transformative reparations” by public bodies in response to the Tinker Experiment.

Its recommendations include financial compensation to victims and families alongside rehabilitation, cultural investment and community development.

It says the Government and other bodies should provide improved and culturally appropriate accommodation for Travellers.

Further, it adds redress should be designed and led by victims and meet international human rights standards.

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Previous calls for restitution have included requests for memorials and the creation of protected historical sites including at Bobbin Mill, in Pitlochry, where Gypsies were forced to resettle and live in slum-like conditions in the mid-20th century.

A Scottish Government spokesman said: “The Scottish Government welcomes the publication of the Scottish Human Rights Commission report regarding a human rights assessment of the ‘Tinker Experiments’ and will carefully consider its contents.

“We are improving the lives of Gypsy/Traveller communities in Scotland through the second Gypsy/Traveller Action Plan.

“Backed by £1 million over the past five years, this is driving positive change to health, education, accommodation, poverty, and tackling discrimination.

“Alongside this, over £500,000 has been invested into the Community Health Worker programme to support Gypsy/Traveller communities overcome barriers to accessing health and other public services.”