Charity considers legal action over gypsy and traveller 'dispersal' in city centre

A charity says it is considering legal action after gypsy and traveller youngsters were 'dispersed' out of Manchester city centre and herded onto trains by police. The Traveller Movement, a national charity working with Irish Traveller, Romani and Roma communities to challenge discrimination and promote inclusion, held preliminary talks with lawyers on Monday.

The Manchester Evening News can also reveal representatives from the charity, and from gypsy and traveller communities in Greater Manchester, will attend a meeting at the Mayor of Greater Manchester's offices on Tuesday.

The deputy mayor, Kate Green, has called for a 'full report' from Greater Manchester Police.

As an MP, Ms Green was a co-chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Gypsies, Travellers and Roma, a forum for parliamentarians to address issues facing those communities. The group today released a statement calling for a 'full investigation' and saying 'over-policing and targeting of minority ethnic communities is never acceptable'.

READ MORE: "My community are good people": High-profile TikTokers speak out after young Travellers turned away from Manchester

The Traveller Movement said it had been contacted by 'numerous parents' and received video footage of 'Romani Gypsy and Irish Traveller children arriving into Manchester, and then being forced onto a different train and prevented from leaving the station by police.' It spoke of a 'shocking' and 'completely unacceptable' incident, adding: "We will not stand by while our communities are discriminated against and excluded in this way."

The charity wrote on X, formerly Twitter: "Together with colleagues in Manchester and surrounding regions, we will ensure this is fully investigated. We are also meeting with lawyers and will share further updates over the coming days."

Video footage emerged of a large number of children, apparently prevented from attending the Christmas markets, walking down a staircase to a platform at Manchester Victoria railway station lined by police. They were then put on trains.

In one clip, a young man could be heard shouting 'I don't know where I am going' as he was pushed on board a train. Another youngster - a girl aged 13 and from Doncaster - ended up more than 100 miles away from Manchester in Grimsby after she was put on a train.

A spokesperson for The Traveller Movement told the M.E.N.: "We met with solicitors today and there are a few different options. A decision has not been made as yet, but there are, we believe, cases to answer here. We have been inundated by parents. There are huge questions to be asked here, as children were separated from older siblings who were chaperoning them."

The charity confirmed children as young as 12 and 13 were involved, with older siblings looking after them.

Greater Manchester Police said a 'dispersal order' was issued 'due to intelligence of groups causing anti-social behaviour on trains on the way into Manchester and similar reports rising around the city centre'. Entrances to the Arndale Centre were also being monitored.

But the charity said the police action was 'heavy-handed and discriminatory', saying children were left 'upset and distressed' and parents 'deeply concerned'.

The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Gypsies, Travellers and Roma is an MPs' interest group to speak up for communities and raise issues. Writing on X, formerly Twitter, the group said: "We are appalled to hear accounts of the violent over-policing of young Romany Gypsies and Irish Travellers by Greater Manchester Police.

"Over-policing and targeting of minority ethnic communities is never acceptable - even more alarming when children are subject to this. There needs to be a full investigation - the families deserve answers and justice. We are currently reviewing the situation and assessing the best course of action."

Irish Traveller and campaigner Martin Ward, who has previously appeared at Glastonbury to protest against a new 'trespass law', said his 12-year-old sister, from Wythenshawe, was 'traumatised' after witnessing some of the scenes on Saturday.

He added: "I know the police have got a job to do, but if they need to disperse people there is a right way and a human way to do it. I've spoke to a lot of the kids who were there. They are not causing problems, most of them were shopping and meeting friends. My little sister says she is scared to go back to Manchester now.

"Every time I spoke to her she was crying, saying she didn't feel safe. She said 'I feel like the police don't like us'. I feel very upset. It's just not the way to make things better with communities."

The Manchester Evening News has contacted GMP for further comment today, as well as Manchester Central MP Lucy Powell, who hasn't responded to us.

On Sunday night, Assistant chief constable Rick Jackson said: "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 on Saturday. 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 groups of people for being turned away, 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."