Traveller children ‘blocked from Christmas market and forced onto trains by police’

Traveller communities person accused constabulary of stopping them from attending Manchester Christmas markets, alternatively hording children onto trains and retired of the city.

Young radical from traveller communities crossed the state journeyed to Manchester past play to sojourn the city’s Christmas markets.

However, erstwhile they arrived astatine Manchester Victoria and Piccadilly railway stations they were turned away.

Senior officers astatine Greater Manchester Police had issued a Section 34 Dispersal Order nether the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act, allowing them to crook distant anyone they thought mightiness beryllium trouble.

Footage shared to societal media showed officers escorting young radical onto trains, with galore of them unclear connected wherever they were headed.

In the videos, 1 serviceman is heard shouting: ‘Get connected the train!’, arsenic a miss replies: ‘Stop pushing I’m going to fall.’

One girl, conscionable 13, who had journeyed westbound from Doncaster to Manchester, was enactment connected a bid to Grimsby on with her brother.

Their parent told MEN the miss ‘was hysterical’ erstwhile she called her from the bid bound for Grimsby.

The Traveller Movement, a foundation dedicated tackling favoritism and equality towards Travellers, has called the footage ‘completely unacceptable’ and said it is considering taking ineligible enactment against GMP.

Representatives for the foundation said successful a statement: ‘Manchester Police has this day allegedly blocked Romani Gypsies and Irish Traveller children from attending the Christmas markets.

‘This heavy-handed and discriminatory enactment has near children upset and distressed, with parents profoundly acrophobic astir the attraction that their children person faced.

‘We person been contacted by galore parents and received video footage of Romani Gypsy and Irish Traveller children arriving into Manchester, and past being forced onto a antithetic bid and prevented from leaving the presumption by police.

‘These children were simply trying to bask the festivities similar everyone other but alternatively person been unfairly targeted and marginalised.

‘This is simply a shocking lawsuit and it is wholly unacceptable. We volition not basal by portion our communities are discriminated against and excluded successful this way.

‘Manchester Police indispensable beryllium held accountable for their alleged actions and instrumentality contiguous steps to extremity this blatant injustice.’ 

GMP’s Assistant main constable, Rick Jackson, defended the force.

He said: ‘Our precedence is ever to support nationalist information by preventing incidents of unit and disorder.

‘Due to quality of groups causing anti-social behaviour connected trains connected the mode into Manchester and akin reports rising astir the metropolis centre, alongside expanding footfall, we issued a dispersal order. This included plans for officers to re-route arriving groups backmost home.

‘Shortly after, officers responded to respective disturbances successful the metropolis centre and intervened successful altercations betwixt groups.

‘We recognize determination are feelings of mistreatment and disorder amongst groups of radical for being turned distant yesterday, and we are determined to code these concerns by moving intimately with the Mayor’s bureau to prosecute these communities successful Manchester and further afield.’

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