David Blunkett in riot warning over Roma migrants

That's a topic of slight contention. The Roma group has a fairly complex and unclear history. The reason it is so unclear is because there is hardly any documentary evidence concerning their past. This is mainly down to the Roma people being adverse to keeping records.

However, Roma (along with Romany Gypsies and Irish Travellers) have protection under the Race Relations Act and are recognised as a minority ethnic group.

The problems seen today with Romany Gypsies and the Roma are all down to the actions of past Governments. At the risk of going wildly off topic, I'll explain in brief...

In the past, the UK Government considered Gypsies to be vagrants - a problem which had to be cured. If you go way back to the 1500s, there were laws making it illegal to be a Gypsy - a crime punishable by death. Housing for Gypsies has been the largest problem. In 1960, a ban was put on Gypsies from being able to buy their own land and settle there, meaning that they were forced to live illegally. Then in 1968, Local Authorities were obligated to provide land for Gypsies to live on. However, the legislation requiring this was never fully enforced and Local Authorities were allowed to get away with offering sites to Gypsies which were not really fit for purpose.

In 1994, the Government removed the obligation for Local Authorities to provide land. This left many Gypsies homeless, and with 97% of planning applications submitted by Gypsies being refused, most of the homeless faced the prospect of not being able to find a legal settlement any time soon.

Essentially, the Roma and Romany Gypsy population has always been seen as outcasts. All the various Acts were an effort to force them to become a bit more 'normal.' But all they done was create an isolated community and problems further down the line.

They are one of the most persecuted groups in history and have suffered a lot in the past. The Commission for Racial Equality say that racism directed to Roma and Romany Gypsies is the last form of 'respectable racism' around. It isn't just the public which are at fault, but Local Authorities and Government.

Vandalism and criminal activity does seem to follow them, where I live such crimes are fairly low until a band of travellers drops by and takes over a park and litters everywhere.

Maybe it is racist but any honest person knows criminality is through the roof among gypsies. If you heard that a family of ten gypsies were moving in down the street you would be suspicious of them and deep down resent their presence and you know it.

Well you are talking to someone who lives close to Dale Farm and about a 5 minute drive from a legal gypsy site. I work in London. So I think I am in the real world, cheers.

The rest of your post is just tosh and prejudice. Remember what I said above: "a phone box is vandalised - probably the Gypsies. Your neighbour's house is broken into - probably the Gypsies."

Well you added another one - "see someone get pick pocketed - probably the Gypsies."

So, do you think all stereotypes regarding cultures/communities are invalid? What about certain religious communities being more intolerant of homosexuals than others, for instance?

Interesting. So, it's invalid to claim that Hindus are more likely to wear the sari than Christians in Britain?

That's fair enough and I pretty much agree. So if a few respectable polls or studies say that x community is more likely to do y than z community, you would be more open to accepting it within a generalised statement?

I'll be a bad sport and reserve my position on this one.

I'd always be very careful about accepting generalised statements.

That is irrelevant.

You either want 3 million Romanians/Bulgarians coming here next year or you don't.

Do have also views on other ethnic groups in Britain ?? Or just Roma gypsies.

Well British Asians tend to over-achieve in education generally, just for example. If you told me that this wasnt true or a stereotype then I'd say Ive seen it with my own eyes, without evening looking for the data which would also back it up.


Roma gypsies do commit a hugely disproportionate amount of crime, any honest person will admit this.

There you go...somebody has been reading Daily Mail and Daily Express lately...By the way, not all the Romanians/Bulgarians are Gypsies, in fact the Gypsy community is rather insignificant in terms of numbers in both countries, with other more significant minorities.

Even if 20% of migrants are gypsies then you're talking about a large group of people who intend to send women and children begging and pickpocketing on the street etc. None of the individuals I see in Westminster(or on the Paris metro for example) every week doing this are non-Roma, none.

Wrong my friend...the Gypsies who come to UK with that purpose are already here simply because they don't need a visa, they don't need any papers to allow them to do it... The Gypsies, the Romanians and Bulgarian criminals are already here because they don't need formalities to commit crimes... None of the ones doing the same in Paris have any papers. The Romanian/Bulgarian people with employment and earning an honest living go unnoticed by anybody simply because they don't cause any trouble to anybody.


PS: 20% means 600.000 people...so then you think 70% of the gypsies will come to UK?

You appear to be a very naïve and idiotic person.

You appear to be a very naïve and idiotic person.