Pavee Point condemns “vile racism” following fatal motorway crash

Pavee Point has condemned what it describes as a wave of racist abuse and calls for violence against Travellers following the fatal motorway crash which claimed the lives of five young men.

Martin Collins of Pavee Point was speaking earlier on Morning Mix with Alan Corcoran and said the actions which led to the collision were “totally irresponsible” and “reckless”, but stressed that criticism of dangerous behaviour should not be used to target the Traveller community.

He said three of the five young men who died were Travellers and claimed their identities prompted an unprecedented level of racist commentary online.

Mr Collins said some posts included calls to “kneecap Travellers”, which he described as incitement to violence, while other comments called for Travellers to be sterilised or placed in concentration camps.

He is calling for social media companies to do more to remove harmful content and for stronger measures to deal with people who incite hatred or violence.

Mr Collins also expressed sympathy with all those affected by the collision, including the seriously injured family travelling in the other vehicle and the families of the five young men who died.

He said the tragedy had left a “wake of devastation” and called for the public discussion around it to be measured and approached with sensitivity, compassion and humanity