Should the Scottish Government pay compensation for the Gypsy Traveller 'Tinker Experiment'?

SNP ministers should consider paying compensation to Gypsy Travellers after issuing a formal apology for the “Tinker Experiment”, according to a Green MSP.

Last year First Minister John Swinney officially apologised for the decades-long social experiment to “settle” Gypsy Traveller communities, which saw many children forcibly removed from their families and placed in care.

However, the Scottish Greens say the Scottish Government needs to go further to tackle discrimination against Gypsy Travellers, including consideration of paying compensation as redress.

A family of Travellers at their camp near Pitlochry in 1958. | TSPL

Kate Nevens MSP, who represents Edinburgh and Lothians East, said: “The Tinker Experiments were profoundly wrong and they are a moral stain on Scotland and our recent history.

“They were rooted in prejudice and a failure to respect the culture, dignity and human rights of Scotland’s Gypsy Traveller communities.

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“There was a terrible human cost, with families separated, children removed, and people forced into accommodation and circumstances that caused deep and lasting harm.

“The Scottish Government was right to apologise, but an apology cannot by itself repair the damage done across generations.

“If we accept that these policies were unjust and that they caused lasting damage, we need to consider what is owed to the people who suffered because of them.

“It’s time for both the Scottish and UK governments and councils who were implicated to go further - that means listening to survivors and their families and seriously considering what a meaningful programme of redress looks like, including compensation where appropriate.”

Kate Nevens, Scottish Green MSP for Edinburgh and Lothians East. | Jane Barlow/Press Association

She said the Gypsy Traveller community “continues to face system discrimination”, and told the government to review its legislation to address the “continuing harms” the community faces, such as housing conditions, poor health outcomes and barriers to education and employment.

Ms Nevens said: “If the First Minister is serious about ensuring mistakes are not repeated, the government must take steps to tackle this ongoing discrimination.

“Scotland has moved on a long way since the days of the Tinker Experiments, but we can never be complacent.

“At a time of rising hate crimes and prejudice, it is critical that we never see cruel policies like these implemented against anyone in this country ever again.”

Ms Nevens quizzed the government’s new Equalities Minister Simita Kumar on this point, saying compensation would be for the “historic wrongs perpetrated by the state”.

Ms Kumar refused to back her calls for financial redress, but she said: “The First Minister formally apologised in June 2025 for the harm caused to Gypsy Travellers by historical policies.

Equalities Minister Simita Kumar | Jane Barlow/Press Association

“That was an important first step towards rebuilding trust and renewing relationships with those affected.

“Since then, we have continued to improve understanding of Gypsy Traveller history and culture, including through £10,000 of support for community-led awareness raising on the Tinker Experiment.

“Through successive Gypsy Traveller action plans and the anti-racism delivery plan, we are also working to improve outcomes for those communities.

“We know that there is more to do, and we will continue to engage with communities to help to inform further decisions.”