Tory Gyp

Squall 6, Spring 1994, pg. 30.

Considerable, and I mean considerable, efforts were made by David MacLean to suggest that the clauses in the Criminal Justice Bill "are not aimed at the gentlemen of the road who wander the highways and byways of Scotland whom I read about in my wife's Sunday Post." Or at "the genuine Romany or other Gypsys."

Nor "does the Government have any quarrel with the nomadic way of life".

But in those Sunday Post stories, does it ever get to the bit where the travellers have to park up for the night. Is it possible to eat sleep, give birth to and educate children without stopping somewhere? According to MacLean they must perform all these vital functions whilst fixing their engine: "It is not our intention that they should be harassed from land when they are forced to camp unlawfully through no fault of their own - for example, if they suffer from a genuine mechanical breakdown."

In other words, the message to all travellers from field marshal MacLean, is that he doesn't mind your lifestyle as long as you entertain his wife on a Sunday and don't rest until you breakdown.

"He’s a nasty piece of wok," said one MP outside the Committee room.