• Contact us
  • About us
  • Digital edition
  • Online archive
Monday, July 7, 2025
Cumberland and Westmorland Herald
  • News
    Extinction Rebellion protest outside insurance brokers

    Extinction Rebellion protest outside insurance brokers

    Lake District mountain rescue volunteers called for missing man searching for lost phone

    Lake District mountain rescue volunteers called for missing man searching for lost phone

    Man arrested after assault in Penrith town centre

    Man arrested after assault in Penrith town centre

    Changes to lease accounting – how will this impact your financial statements?

    Changes to lease accounting – how will this impact your financial statements?

    Man fined £100 for using cashpoint in car park

    Man fined £100 for using cashpoint in car park

    Honour for man who devoted his life to Greystoke

    Honour for man who devoted his life to Greystoke

    Sheep breeder’s successful debut at Royal Highland Show

    Sheep breeder’s successful debut at Royal Highland Show

    Global engineering firm Babcock supports Eden charity

    Global engineering firm Babcock supports Eden charity

    Penrith Lions mark 50 years of serving community

    Penrith Lions mark 50 years of serving community

  • Sport
    Penrith skipper Nicky Burns calls on team to keep winning

    Penrith skipper Nicky Burns calls on team to keep winning

    £100,000 target for new changing rooms extension

    £100,000 target for new changing rooms extension

    Medal success for Upper Eden tug-of-war team

    Medal success for Upper Eden tug-of-war team

    Eden man competes in Hyrox World Games

    Eden man competes in Hyrox World Games

    Double national triumph for Stuart Robinson

    Double national triumph for Stuart Robinson

    Patterdale’s Eden Eagles make history

    Patterdale’s Eden Eagles make history

    Penrith teen crowned British vault champion

    Penrith teen crowned British vault champion

    Penrith gymnasts represent North of England in finals

    Penrith gymnasts represent North of England in finals

    New boss revealed for Penrith AFC

    New boss revealed for Penrith AFC

  • Obituaries
  • Nostalgia
  • Online archive
  • Buy Photos
  • Buy your paper
  • North Lakes Living
No Result
View All Result
Cumberland and Westmorland Herald
  • News
    Extinction Rebellion protest outside insurance brokers

    Extinction Rebellion protest outside insurance brokers

    Lake District mountain rescue volunteers called for missing man searching for lost phone

    Lake District mountain rescue volunteers called for missing man searching for lost phone

    Man arrested after assault in Penrith town centre

    Man arrested after assault in Penrith town centre

    Changes to lease accounting – how will this impact your financial statements?

    Changes to lease accounting – how will this impact your financial statements?

    Man fined £100 for using cashpoint in car park

    Man fined £100 for using cashpoint in car park

    Honour for man who devoted his life to Greystoke

    Honour for man who devoted his life to Greystoke

    Sheep breeder’s successful debut at Royal Highland Show

    Sheep breeder’s successful debut at Royal Highland Show

    Global engineering firm Babcock supports Eden charity

    Global engineering firm Babcock supports Eden charity

    Penrith Lions mark 50 years of serving community

    Penrith Lions mark 50 years of serving community

  • Sport
    Penrith skipper Nicky Burns calls on team to keep winning

    Penrith skipper Nicky Burns calls on team to keep winning

    £100,000 target for new changing rooms extension

    £100,000 target for new changing rooms extension

    Medal success for Upper Eden tug-of-war team

    Medal success for Upper Eden tug-of-war team

    Eden man competes in Hyrox World Games

    Eden man competes in Hyrox World Games

    Double national triumph for Stuart Robinson

    Double national triumph for Stuart Robinson

    Patterdale’s Eden Eagles make history

    Patterdale’s Eden Eagles make history

    Penrith teen crowned British vault champion

    Penrith teen crowned British vault champion

    Penrith gymnasts represent North of England in finals

    Penrith gymnasts represent North of England in finals

    New boss revealed for Penrith AFC

    New boss revealed for Penrith AFC

  • Obituaries
  • Nostalgia
  • Online archive
  • Buy Photos
  • Buy your paper
  • North Lakes Living
No Result
View All Result
Cumberland and Westmorland Herald
No Result
View All Result
Home Latest

Gypsy traveller campaign to stop Police Bill set to arrive in Appleby

by CWH
13 July 2021
in Latest, News
A A
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
Billy Welch

A gypsy traveller campaign protesting against Priti Patel’s Police Bill was held in London last week ­— with its next stop set to be Appleby Horse Fair.

The Drive 2 Survive protest was held in Parliament Square, with those involved railing against against the Home Secretary’s proposed Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill.

Coverage of the Bill has largely centred on the way it could criminalise peaceful protests and has led to “Kill the Bill” protests around the country.

Gypsy Roma Traveller (GRT) representative Billy Welch spoke at the protest and has written to Mrs Patel highlighting the threat the legislation would pose to the travelling community ­— saying it could criminalise gatherings including Appleby fair.

The Bill, which went before the House of Commons again this week, could give police the power to move travellers on from unofficial stopping points, arrest them or even confiscate their homes if there was reasonable suspicion their presence could lead to damage, disruption or disorder.

Mr Welch said police could confiscate travellers’ homes if they did not immediately move on when local people complained ­— despite there being a substantial shortage of approved sites, meaning gypsies have nowhere legal to stop.

He said members of the GRT community are anxious because the legislation is reminiscent of laws passed in pre-war Germany.

In an impassioned statement, Mr Welch said: “We have been here for centuries. We are British — our grandfathers and fathers fought in the last two world wars. They sacrificed their lives to defend this country.

“We are not society’s rejects, just to be treated like this by this government.

“The people I represent are anxious about these proposals and with good reason. They appear to be reminiscent of Nazi Germany in the 1930s, and the start of the process of ethnic cleansing in which gypsies were forced off the road by fines and imprisonment.

“Their horses and vehicles were confiscated, which eventually led to them being sent to death camps or murdered on the side of the road. There are still many gypsies alive who lost their families in that Holocaust, and they have not forgotten — this is how it began.”

In the letter Mr Welch wrote: “The Bill as it stands creates a new criminal offence. A person who does not immediately leave a piece of public or private land when asked to do so (based only on ‘reasonable suspicion’ that they have, or will, cause damage, disturbance or disruption) may be arrested, fined, and imprisoned and have their vehicles confiscated.

“Although the Bill makes no reference to ethnicity, this provision will in effect make criminals of law-abiding gypsies and travellers as well as homeless people and ‘wild-campers’ who live in vans, because the offence is in refusing to leave, which requires no evidence of antisocial behaviour, but merely suspicion that it is likely.”

A spokesman for the Home Office said it had engaged with GRT representatives, adding: “The vast majority of travellers are law abiding, and we recognise their right to follow a nomadic way of life in line with their cultural heritage.

“Unauthorised encampments reflect badly on the law-abiding traveller community — they can cause misery to those who live nearby, with communities impacted by problems such as being unable to access or use their land, and excessive noise and littering.

“It’s therefore right we are giving the police the powers they need to address this issue and the Government will continue its work to provide more authorised sites for travellers to reside on.”

Related Posts

Extinction Rebellion protest outside insurance brokers
Latest

Extinction Rebellion protest outside insurance brokers

7 July 2025
Lake District mountain rescue volunteers called for missing man searching for lost phone
Latest

Lake District mountain rescue volunteers called for missing man searching for lost phone

7 July 2025
Man arrested after assault in Penrith town centre
Latest

Man arrested after assault in Penrith town centre

6 July 2025
Changes to lease accounting – how will this impact your financial statements?
Expert advice

Changes to lease accounting – how will this impact your financial statements?

6 July 2025
Man fined £100 for using cashpoint in car park
News

Man fined £100 for using cashpoint in car park

4 July 2025
Honour for man who devoted his life to Greystoke
News

Honour for man who devoted his life to Greystoke

4 July 2025
No Result
View All Result

Stay connected

Facebook Twitter Instagram

Most popular

Changes to lease accounting – how will this impact your financial statements?

Changes to lease accounting – how will this impact your financial statements?

6 July 2025
Memory lane – a look at the Herald’s archive photos

Memory lane – a look at the Herald’s archive photos

4 July 2025
Penrith skipper Nicky Burns calls on team to keep winning

Penrith skipper Nicky Burns calls on team to keep winning

4 July 2025
Penrith Lions mark 50 years of serving community

Penrith Lions mark 50 years of serving community

4 July 2025
Anti-social residents move out after threatened with police order

Anti-social residents move out after threatened with police order

3 July 2025
£8,000 for two new nature reserve projects

£8,000 for two new nature reserve projects

3 July 2025
Cumberland and Westmorland Herald Logo

33 Middlegate
Penrith
Cumbria
CA11 7SY

Phone: 01768 862313
Email: news@cwherald.com

Registered in England as Barrnon Media Limited. No: 12475190
VAT registration number: 343486488

Explore

  • News
  • Sport
  • Farming
  • Property
  • Obituaries
  • Nostalgia
  • Your view

Useful links

  • Contact us
  • Photosales
  • Online archive
  • Buy your paper
  • Digital edition
  • North Lakes Living
  • Advertise
  • About us

Follow us on

© Barrnon Media Limited 2025

Terms & Conditions / Privacy Policy / Cookie Policy

This website and its associated newspaper are members of the Independent Press Standards Organisation
Review Your Cart
0
Discount
Add Coupon Code
Subtotal
Total Installment Payments
Bundle Discount
Checkout

 
0
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Obituaries
  • Nostalgia
  • Online archive
  • more
    • North Lakes Living
    • Buy Photos
    • Buy your paper
    • About us
    • Contact us

© 2020 Cumberland & Westmorland Herald