John Swinney apologises to Gypsy Traveller community for 'Tinker Experiment'

First Minister John Swinney has apologised to the Scottish gypsy traveller communities for a decades-long social experiment and its impacts.

The “Tinker Experiment”, which lasted from 1940 until 1980, was a programme designed to integrate travellers into mainstream society.

This included the forced and permanent removal of children from their families.

Campaigners have long been calling for an apology from the Scottish Government, which finally came to fruition on Wednesday.

“It falls to the Government to say, without ambiguity, that what happened to Gypsy Traveller communities in Scotland was unacceptable,” Swinney said.

“As First Minister of Scotland, I want to say this directly to Gypsy Traveller communities: The Tinker Experiments should not have happened.

“Those policies were wrong, and we recognise how much it is still hurting so many today. More than anything else, I want to say this: on behalf of Scotland, we are sorry.”

Although the First Minister apologised to Gypsy Traveller communities on behalf of the Scottish Government and public institutions, Swinney said his SNP Government “does not have immediate plans” for a redress or compensation scheme.

“The Scottish Government does not have immediate plans on a redress scheme, but this is the start of further dialogue with Gypsy Traveller communities,” he said.

“I’m keen to make sure we follow up the apology with means of supporting communities and individuals to be able to overcome the damage that’s been done in the past.”

What are the ‘Tinker Experiments’?

The Tinker Experiments are the name given to a series of policies and decisions from 1940 until 1980 that affected Gypsy Traveller communities in Scotland.

The policies saw Gypsy Traveller children forcibly removed from their families.

Swinney said the “unfair and unjust” policies also resulted in families being forced to live in “substandard accommodation and degrading conditions”.

“The trauma this has caused to individuals, families, and groups – including those who regard themselves as victims of the Tinker Experiments – is significant and long-lasting,” Swinney said on Wednesday.

The Scottish Government previously commissioned a report into the controversial “Tinker Experiment” in 2023.

Those findings, compiled by the Third Generation Project at St Andrews’ School of International Relations, were finally published on Wednesday after Swinney’s apology.

Researchers found that organisations, including the Scottish Office, Church of Scotland, charities, and the police, were complicit in facilitating policies like forced assimilation, settlement, and the removal of children – including sending them abroad.

“We ultimately found that the intentions of the Tinker Experiments were not to support the cultural ways of life of Gypsy/Travellers in Scotland. It was the exact opposite,” lead author and director of the Third Generation Project, Professor Ali Watson said.