Report into decades-long 'Tinker Experiment' that 'decimated' lives in Scotland delayed again

A report into a decades-long social experiment that “decimated” the lives of gypsy travellers in Scotland has been delayed again.

The Scottish Government previously commissioned new research into the so-called Tinker Experiment in a bid to "understand events as fully as possible".

A report setting out a timeline of key moments, decisions and roles was initially due in January, before this was pushed back to September. Ministers now say archival fieldwork has been completed and the findings will be published in "due course".

The scheme, which ran between the 1940s and 1980s and was supported by successive UK governments and Scottish councils, attempted to strip away the nomadic lifestyle of travellers, providing rudimentary and often cramped huts for people to live in.

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

Families were reportedly threatened with having their children taken away and put into care if they did not take up the offer. Campaigners have likened the practice to “cultural genocide” and there have been calls for a formal apology.

Shamus McPhee, who grew up on the Bobbin Mill site in Pitlochry, where he initially lived in a prefabricated World War Two-style Nissen hut with no electricity, previously told The Scotsman the scheme had “decimated” life chances.

He said it was a "bone of contention" that formal apologies had been offered to other groups who suffered historic injustices – such as those accused of witchcraft in Scotland between the 16th and 18th centuries – but not gypsy travellers.

In 2022, the Scottish Government announced it would commission independent research into the experiment. It said this would involve searching state records covering a period of 90 years to establish a timeline of key events, as well as identifying any available records on decisions made by government departments – especially the pre-devolution Scottish Office – and the role of institutions such as the Church of Scotland.

Researchers were asked to estimate the scale of the policy, including the number of people affected, and the locations of sites across Scotland, while also recording “any instances of forced adoption” they came across.

It was anticipated the research would involve digging into material covering the period from 1900 to 1990, including Scottish Office records, papers held by councils and the Kirk, newspaper articles, letters, photographs and diaries.

Two contracts relating to the work had a combined value of around £50,000, and final reports were initially due in January 2024. However, it is understood the archival research has been complex and time consuming.

A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: “The archival fieldwork for the independent research has been completed and the report on this complex work is currently being produced. We intend to publish a report in due course and will make sure that people and organisations who wish to provide feedback and share their experiences are able to do so.”

Davie Donaldson, a Scottish traveller and campaigner, previously called for a “full truth and reconciliation commission”.

He told The Scotsman: “I think it’s crucial the Scottish Government recognises the real impact that the experiments had on not only the victims and the survivors of the Tinker Experiment, but on the generation that came afterwards, in the form of cultural trauma.”