Perth and Kinross Council issues “truly heartfelt” apology to victims of Tinker Experiment
Perth and Kinross Council has today apologised to victims of the Tinker Experiment in a statement at the Full Council meeting.
The Tinker Experiments forcibly settled Gypsy Traveller families into substandard accommodation, removed children from their families, carried out forced adoptions abroad, included the surveillance and segregation of Gypsy Traveller community and cultural genocide.
Perth and Kinross Council said, “We acknowledge with deep regret the harm caused to Gypsy/Traveller families through the historical policies and practices known as the “Tinker Experiment.” These policies, implemented between the 1940s and 1980s, sought to forcibly assimilate nomadic communities and were supported by successive UK governments, the Scottish Office, local authorities, Police and the Church of Scotland. We recognise that these actions, placing families in substandard and isolated housing, threatening and enacting child removals, and suppressing cultural identity, constituted a grave injustice. The legacy of these policies continues to affect individuals and families in our region, including those who were settled at Bobbin Mill in Pitlochry under conditions that were overcrowded, unsafe, and lacking basic amenities. We are profoundly sorry for the suffering endured by generations of Gypsy/Traveller families in Perth and Kinross. We apologise for the role of local authorities in supporting and implementing these discriminatory practices, and for the lasting impact they have had on mental health, identity, and access to opportunity. This apology is not only a recognition of past wrongs but a reaffirmation of our commitment to fairness, inclusion, and respect. We pledge to continue listening, learning, and acting in partnership with Gypsy/Traveller communities to ensure that such injustices are never repeated.”
The Council has also committed to actions to address the longstanding injustices.
Roseanna McPhee, campaigner for the apology said. “Although this apology is welcomed by those affected by Tinker Experiment in Perth and Kinross and most especially the campaigners, there are a couple of inaccuracies which campaigners would like to be flagged up.
Firstly, the Tinker Experiment did not simply run from 1940s – 1980s as the very first Tinker Experiment site at Bobbin Mill is still in existence and there was no hot water or electricity in site until September 2010 – indeed, some residents still did not have those facilities until 2016 because of a disagreement regarding the second hand chalets placed on site and one resident is still in a caravan without running water or electricity.
Secondly, there is a suggestion that a site upgrade which is in line with Scottish Government’s existing policy and upgrade programme is somehow ‘remedy’ for the multiple violations suffered by victims of the Tinker Experiment.
This is concerning in Human Rights terms because such upgrades have been given to other sites which were not Tinker Experiment sites and this has already been an established aim of the Scottish Government’s National Action Plan.
Whilst the apology is welcomed by victims, there is an urgent need to start seriously looking at reparations for those most affected; as that is what may improve their lives given the devastating and damaging impact of this Experiment.”
Clare MacGillivray, Director of Making Rights Real said, “This apology by Perth and Kinross Council is important as it signals a move towards acknowledgement of the horrendous human rights abuses against victims of the Tinker Experiment over many decades. This is the third institution following the Scottish Government and Church of Scotland to own up to inflicting intentional suffering on families with the aim of eradicating Gypsy Traveller culture.
The apology is welcomed by victims. A whole-state human rights based response is now required to provide redress for victims and to systematically shift systems that perpetuate the racism and discrimination still experienced by Gypsy Traveller communities today. Transformational action is required now. I want to pay tribute to the Tinker Experiment campaigners as human rights defenders who have tirelessly fought over decades to expose these horrendous abuses and seek accountability for the harms perpetuated against them. May there be space now to move forward to address the community’s ongoing concerns.”