Paddy Doherty endorses 'peaceful protest' over young travellers turned away from Manchester

Paddy Doherty has endorsed a 'peaceful protest' planned in Manchester in the wake of the furore surrounding GMP's decision to turn travellers - many of them children - away from the city centre on Saturday.

The My Big Fat Gypsy Weddings and Celebrity Big Brother star criticised 'discrimination' but insisted the protest would be peaceful: "Please don't come for trouble. It's just protest."

The Gypsy Traveller League announced a 'peaceful protest' in Manchester on Friday December 6. On its Facebook page, the announcement said: "We've faced injustice for thousands of years, but in 2024 we say enough is enough. Together, we stand as one, united against discrimination."

READ NEXT: Traveller girl, 13, ended up 'hysterical' in Grimsby after being herded onto train by police in Manchester

In a video posted on the page, Mr Doherty said the police actions amounted to 'discrimination'. He added: "They're our children. English, Irish, it doesn't make any difference. They're our community, our children, travelling in trains where they didn't know where they're going."

He added: "It's not for trouble, please turn up. This is all for travellers' rights.... It's not for trouble, please don't come for trouble. It's just protest. We're human beings. We're not vermin."

He said the young travellers had gone to Manchester 'to party, go shopping' but that police had been 'bullying and intimidating' them

The force has has defended its decision to issue a 'dispersal order' just after noon on Saturday, saying it followed reports that groups were causing trouble on trains on their way into Manchester.

Video was widely circulated online of police officers herding young travellers back onto trains at Victoria railway station on Saturday afternoon.

The force has been accused of a 'heavy-handed and discriminatory action' by a charity which said traveller children were stopped from attending the Christmas markets and 'forced' back onto trains out of the city. The Traveller Movement, a national charity, said it was a 'shocking' and 'completely unacceptable'.

Assistant chief constable Rick Jackson said today in a statement on Sunday: “We are aware of social media videos circulating, and comments from the Gypsy, Roma, and Traveller communities concerning our policing of a dispersal order in Manchester city centre yesterday.

“Our priority is always to protect public safety by preventing incidents of violence and disorder.

“Due to intelligence of groups causing anti-social behaviour on trains on the way into Manchester and similar reports rising around the city centre, alongside increasing footfall, we issued a dispersal order. This included plans for officers to re-route arriving groups back home.

“Shortly after, officers responded to several disturbances in the city centre and intervened in altercations between groups.

“We understand there are feelings of mistreatment and confusion amongst the groups of people for being turned away yesterday, and we are determined to address these concerns by working closely with the Mayor’s office to engage these communities in Manchester and further afield.”