Tag: gypsies

Crime and Policing Bill: Bishop of Manchester supports amendments on tackling prejudice against Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities

The Bishop of Manchester spoke in support of amendments to the Crime and Policing Bill at committee on 17th November 2025, opposing over policing of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities and urging the government to tackle discrimination and prejudice against these communities:

My Lords, Manchester’s famous Christmas markets are now in full swing. If you’re visiting my city any time in the next few weeks, until the last few days before Christmas, you are most welcome to patronise them. However, that was not the case for a number of young people from Gypsy, Roma and Traveller backgrounds this time last year. They were turned away by police at the railway station on the supposition that they must have come to commit crime. Children were seen being forced on to trains heading to unknown destinations, separated from family members, and subjected to physical aggression. That included shoving, hair-pulling, and handcuffing. Several individuals reported officers making disparaging remarks about their ethnicity.

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Bishop of Sheffield asks about access to SEND services for vulnerable children

The Bishop of Sheffield asked a question on ensuring vulnerable children with SEND on 11th December 2024, such as those in the Gypsy, Roma, and Traveller community, and those living in extreme poverty, are able to fully access SEND services:

The Lord Bishop of Sheffield: My Lords, despite significant progress in the identification of pupils with SEND in recent years, some groups remain significantly underrepresented in accessing a formal diagnosis and acquiring an EHCP. Looked-after children as well as those experiencing the most severe poverty and those who belong to Romany, Gypsy, Traveller and Roma communities face particularly serious barriers. What steps will the Government take to ensure that the most vulnerable children with SEND are better served?

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Bishop of Derby asks about racial bias in youth justice

The Bishop of Derby asked a question on steps to eliminate racial bias against gypsy, Roma and traveller children in the youth justice system on 25th April 2024:

The Lord Bishop of Derby: My Lords, I hold responsibility in the Bishops’ prison team for children in the youth justice system, so my question arises not only from access to what I find to be quite disturbing data but also from direct contact with children in the justice system. What steps are His Majesty’s Government taking to eliminate racial bias, including in charging, against Gypsy, Roma and Traveller children in the youth justice system, who are often hidden within official statistics?

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Bishop of Durham asks about views of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller (GRT) communities

On 26th July 2022, the Bishop of Durham asked a question in a debate on the Roma Community: Levelling Up:

The Lord Bishop of Durham: My Lords, in a recent conversation with Billy Welch, who organises the Appleby Horse Fair and lives in Darlington, he asked—while recognising the deep problems that have been highlighted in all these questions—that we please start talking about the positive contributions that GRT communities make. Would the Minister like to comment on his view?

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Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill: Bishop of Manchester supports amendments on protection for Gypsy, Roma, and Traveller communities

On 13th December 2021, during a debate on the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill, the Bishop of Manchester spoke in support of amendments that would provide protection from eviction and homelessness for those from Gyspy, Roma, and Traveller communities:

The Lord Bishop of Manchester: My Lords, I declare my interests, first in my work with the National Police Chiefs’ Council, which has already been referred to today, secondly as chair of the Wythenshawe Community Housing Group, and lastly as deputy chair of the Church Commissioners for England, one of the largest owners of farmland in the country. I think I have almost as wide a range of interests as has this extraordinarily diverse and far-reaching Bill.

I am grateful to those noble Lords from across the House who have proposed and supported the amendments in this group and spoken to them so powerfully in this debate. Like others, I am also grateful to the Minister for generously taking time to engage with us last week.

In my short time so far as a Member of your Lordships’ House, I have become accustomed to Ministers telling us that they have sympathy for our position but that the present Bill is not the way to address the matters that concern us—for example, when we tried to look at safety in high buildings on the then Fire Safety Bill. I do not see why we cannot play the same card. We need a separate Bill, one that deals comprehensively with the needs as well as the obligations of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller people—not simply legislation that offers fresh and very serious penalties for what may be rather minor infractions. The matters addressed in these clauses would surely be better dealt with in that more balanced context. That would allow Her Majesty’s Government to deliver on their manifesto commitment.

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Votes: Police Crime Sentencing and Courts Bill

On 13th December 2021, the House of Lords debated the Police, Crime Sentencing and Courts Bill in the report stage. Votes were held on amendments to the bill, in which Bishops took part.

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Bishop of London asks about safe stopping places for Gypsy, Roma and Traveller Communities

The Bishop of London tabled a question on the availability of places for Gypsy, Roma & Traveller Communities to stop on 4th November 2021:

The Lord Bishop of London: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the availability of places for nomadic Gypsies and Travellers to legally and safely stop; and what plans they have to address any identified shortage of places.

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Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill: Bishop of London adds support to amendments aimed at protecting sites for Gypsy, Roma, and Traveller Communities

The House of Lords debated amendments to the Police, Crime, Sentencing & Courts Bill in committee on 3rd November 2021. During the debate, the Bishop of London spoke in support of amendments which would limit police powers relating to the proposed offence of criminal trespass, which would have particular effect on Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities and the sites used by these communities:

The Lord Bishop of London: My Lords, I have listened with interest to what noble Lords have said on this group of amendments, and I rise to add my support to them, particularly Amendment 149.

In 2019, the General Synod, the parliament of the Church of England, held a serious and lengthy debate on the treatment of Gypsy, Roma and Travelling communities. It noted the long and ugly history, going back at least as far as the Egyptians Act, passed by your Lordships’ predecessors in 1530, which sought to ban further immigration from Romani Gypsies and to deport resident Gypsies.

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Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill: Bishop of Manchester supports amendments to limit police powers regarding criminal trespass

On 3rd November 2021, the Bishop of Manchester spoke in support of amendments to the Police, Crime, Sentencing & Courts Bill in committee. The amendments, tabled by Baroness Whittaker, aimed to limit police powers relating to the offence of “criminal trespass”, particularly pertaining to sites used by Gypsy, Roma and Traveller Communities:

The Lord Bishop of Manchester: My Lords, I support Amendments 133 and 149 in my name and the names of the noble Baroness, Lady Whitaker, who has spoken so eloquently, and the unavoidably absent noble Lords, Lord Alton and Lord Bourne. I also wish to support Amendment 147 in the name of the noble Lord, Lord Rosser, and others. I refer noble Lords to my interest in policing ethics that is set out in the register.

As I said at Second Reading, Gypsy, Roma and Traveller people have been a vital part of the economy of our nation—not least its agricultural sector—for many generations. Their mobility has enabled them to provide labour at the point of need for shorter or longer periods of time. The consequence of that very flexibility is that they have not acquired fixed land, property or dwellings over generations, but are constantly at the whim of the availability of sites and pitches for their vehicles and caravans. The labour shortages that presently beset us might serve as a reminder that we owe a debt to those who have provided a flexible workforce in times past. Instead, this Bill seeks to push them towards criminality while making no adequate alternative provision for them.

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Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill: Bishop of Manchester expresses concern over increased police powers

The Bishop of Manchester spoke in a debate on the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill on 14th September 2021, expressing concern over the increased police powers relating to protest and approaches to Gypsy, Roma and Traveller Communities:

The Lord Bishop of Manchester: My Lords, I draw the House’s attention to my interests as set out in the register, particularly in the world of policing as a trustee of the Clink Charity.

Two centuries ago, in the aftermath of the Peterloo massacre, where a politically motivated militia killed and maimed dozens of citizens who were protesting for voting rights in Manchester city centre, Robert Peel introduced the principles of civilian policing. Those principles have served this country with distinction ever since. British police are civilians in uniform, not agents of state control. Their calling is to police by consent, enabling the public to exercise their rights and freedoms as well as maintaining good order. It is a delicate balance. It requires Governments to stay their hand when proposing legislation and senior police officers to guard their operational independence. It is especially sensitive when the rights of citizens to protest come into the frame.

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