News & events

Updates, information and news from London Gypsies and Travellers

Latest news

Home Secretary owes Travellers an apology

September 30, 2020

Organisations for Gypsies and Travellers, including LGT, are demanding an apology from Home Secretary Priti Patel after she branded Travellers as criminal and violent in a recent Zoom meeting with Jewish community leaders. During the meeting, Ms Patel said she was determined to stamp out the “criminality that takes place and that has happened through …

A Bright Future awaits

July 15, 2020

London Gypsies and Travellers has relaunched its Bright Futures programme, which supports children and parents as they make the transition from primary school to secondary school or from school to college. Bright Futures now has its own logo, and LGT is promoting the programme widely. As part of the service, LGT’s youth development worker can …

Online event celebrates our history

July 7, 2020

Gypsy, Roma and Traveller History Month celebrations took a new format this year, with London Gypsies and Travellers, the Greater London Authority and other organisations staging a spectacular online event showcasing the community’s contribution and culture, but suited to COVID times. Debbie Weekes-Bernard, London’s Deputy Mayor for Social Integration, attended the event and spoke about …

#AfterDispatches community response

April 30, 2020

In a short film made by LGT, Gypsies and Travellers are sharing their responses to Channel 4 Dispatches programme The Truth about Traveller Crime. Since the programme was aired on 16th April, LGT has been gathering reactions from Gypsies and Travellers in London and beyond to feed into its formal complaints to Channel 4 and …

Dispatches programme provokes outrage

April 17, 2020

London Gypsies and Travellers is urging members of the community and the public to complain to Channel 4 television and Ofcom, following a Dispatches programme which claimed to reveal the links between Traveller sites and high crime levels. The programme, billed as an investigation and called “The Truth About Traveller Crime”, showcased public accounts of …

Traveller communities hit hard by COVID-19

April 8, 2020

London Gypsies and Travellers is raising urgent concerns about the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on Gypsies and Travellers in London. With pitches on permanent sites and temporary stopping places thin on the ground, many families are struggling with overcrowding on available sites, leaving them unable to self-isolate if they are vulnerable or symptomatic. LGT …

LGT response to the Covid-19 outbreak

March 19, 2020

LGT response plan to the Covid-19 (Coronavirus) outbreak In response to the current Covid-19 outbreak, our office is currently closed until further notice. We are committed to supporting the Gypsy and Traveller community at this difficult time. We will continue working remotely but have made changes to the delivery of our services as outlined below. …

Achievement in a year of division

February 24, 2020

The 2019 London Gypsies and Travellers’ Annual Report is now available for download. The report details LGT’s work influencing policy, protecting the Gypsy and Traveller way of life, mapping the community’s history, supporting families and offering young people opportunities. In her introduction, LGT Chair Claire Cooper points to the divisions currently apparent in society. “It’s …

LGT’s commitment and values praised

February 21, 2020

London Gypsies and Travellers has been awarded a charity quality mark after an external assessment by the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO). The assessment concluded that LGT “has a clear planning structure, strong governance and robust values which they put into practice by ensuring that users are at the heart of everything they do”. …

Home Office asked to withdraw flawed consultation

February 11, 2020

Eleven organisations supporting Gypsies and Travellers, including LGT, have urged Home Secretary Priti Patel to withdraw the current consultation on criminalising trespass and strengthening police powers to evict. A letter to the Home Office  sent last week by the National Federation of Gypsy Liaison Groups challenges the consultation because it fails to comply with the …