Deputy mayor issues statement over Gypsy and Traveller videos and wants 'full report' from GMP

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

The deputy mayor of Greater Manchester has issued a statement after social media video footage showed young members of Gypsy and Traveller communities being herded by police onto trains at Manchester Victoria railway station.

Kate Green, whose 'safer and stronger' communities role includes supporting victims of crime, said she has asked Greater Manchester Police 'for a full report on the action taken' and would also be holding a meeting of community leaders.

Ms Green confirmed she's watched the footage and said she 'expects the police to treat everyone fairly and with respect'. READ MORE: Five bottles of wine and the moment in the back of a prison van that her life changed forever It comes as GMP was today accused of a 'heavy-handed and discriminatory action' by a charity who said Gypsy and Traveller children were stopped from attending the Christmas markets and 'forced' back onto trains out of the city.

The Traveller Movement, a national charity, said it was a 'shocking' and 'completely unacceptable' case. Videos seen by the Manchester Evening News appear to show children and young adults, many of them girls in dresses, being met by officers on a platform, who then usher them onto trains.