City criticised for treatment of travellers

HUMAN rights campaigners have written to council bosses to highlight their treatment of gypsy travellers.

Amnesty International said it was "proving difficult" to tackle "discrimination" of travelling people in Scotland.

Earlier this year, the city council was criticised by the Equality and Human Rights Commission Scotland for introducing a series of measures to prevent travellers using the city's park-and-ride sites as a place to stay.

Now Amnesty has written to a number of councils, including Edinburgh, challenging them to do more for travellers.

A spokesman said: "Local authorities play a crucial role in delivering basic services and Amnesty International has researched the performance of Scotland's 32 local authorities.

"We are now writing to these, highlighting areas where we would like to see improvement."

Edinburgh has just one official site for gypsies and travellers, at North Cairntow, Duddingston, with just 20 pitches.

On several occasions over the past year, council bosses have sought court orders to move on travellers who have begun using park-and-ride sites.