The National Catholic Chaplain for Gypsies, Roma and Travellers has strongly criticised a Channel 4 documentary about those communities that he said “sensationalised” important issues and could reinforce prejudice.
"Dispatches: The Truth About Traveller Crime" focused on crimes allegedly committed by GRT communities, focusing on one community in Lutterworth, Leicestershire, in particular, but also on communities elsewhere in the UK.
Since the programme aired on Thursday a number of groups that support GRT communities have threatened legal action. Pauline Anderson OBE, the Chair of Trustees for The Traveller Movement, said an interview with her had been “misused” by the programme.
Fr Dan Mason, National Catholic Chaplain for Gypsies, Roma and Travellers said today: “Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities make a valuable contribution to our society, yet face extraordinary levels of racism and discrimination. Almost every man, woman and child has suffered some form of hate speech or hate crime.
“Channel 4’s programme used sensationalist language, selective examples and dubious statistics which will only reinforce this prejudice. Such broadcasts would be dangerous and irresponsible at the best of times. Coming amid a national crisis, and a pandemic that’s hitting minority communities so hard, is particularly unacceptable.
“Pope Paul VI reminded us that our GRT sisters and brothers are at the heart of the Church. We will continue to stand in solidarity with them.”
A spokesman for Channel 4 told The Tablet: "We stand by the journalism in this programme which examined an important issue that was addressed fairly, accurately, and with due impartiality in accordance with the Ofcom Broadcasting Code. Channel 4 regularly addresses uncomfortable issues and any delay in transmission would have been unfair on the contributors.
"The statistics were drawn from government and police sources and analysis of the association between crime levels and some Traveller sites was undertaken by highly professional people. The programme included contributions from Travellers and Traveller advocates as well as people who detailed their experiences of living near certain Traveller sites and who questioned the authorities’ approach to criminality. Other representative groups were approached but did not respond or declined to take part in the programme."
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