Conservative council leader Mike Bird has apologised for his comments about travellers saying he did not intend to offend anyone
A council leader has apologised for his comments about travellers saying he did not did not intend to cause any offence.
Mike Bird, the leader at Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council, had previously said travellers ‘not give a damn’ and belonged to a ‘lawless society.’
He also accused travellers of thefts in the borough and agreed with another caller on radio BBC West Midlands comments’ about the travelling community being ‘parasitic.’
After the disgruntled caller spoke on Danny Kelly’s show on Thursday morning Mr Bird said: ‘The gentleman is absolutely 100% right.
‘The ones that I’ve come across, they are a lawless society, they have no respect whatsoever for our community.’
Mr Bird has since apologised for his words.
He told the BBC: ‘I respect every community and individual equally and that is something I firmly believe in.
‘I deeply regret any offence caused, it was certainly not intended or meant.’
The conservative Councillor also said on the radio show that travellers: ‘Do not give a damn. I have now got 24 injunction sites because of the incursions we’ve had.
‘It’s the rubbish they leave, the intimidation, the threats, the theft. They are parasites.’
Speaking again on Thursday to a Local Democracy Reporter Mr Bird said travellers drove ‘around on motorbikes shouting abuse.’
Mr Bird’s comments prompted an angry response from other callers, with one demanding Theresa May sack him for his ‘unacceptable language.’
Mr Bird is the leader at Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council (pictured) and said that travellers do ‘not give a damn’ and belonged to a ‘lawless society.’
Another called him into question about Romany Gypsies which Mr Bird said was ‘a completely different topic’ that did not apply here.
Asked if he felt any venom towards travellers in general, Mr Bird said: ‘Oh absolutely. The residents suffer 24 hours a day when travellers rock up on their doorsteps.
‘They have youngsters driving motorbikes on private land and this is invariably on land that belongs to the council. They just have no respect for other people.
‘We have had many incursions in Walsall and the mess and the mayhem they cause, the theft they cause, is disgraceful.
‘In recent weeks they walked into the local co-op and were literally just emptying the shelves. And the manager, genuinely, was so frightened that he let them get on with it.’
In response to the call for the Prime Minister to sack him, Mr Bird said: ‘Theresa May and I get on quite well actually. And whether or not I get the sack is down to the electorate, and so far that hasn’t happened in 39 years.’
Following Mr Bird’s comments, Labour Councillor Matt Ward said: ‘It’s not the first time Mike has said this.
‘Illegal encampments cause a lot of issues for our residents and what they actually need is proper sites so they have got somewhere to go.
‘And the big issue is where those sites should be. It’s something that Walsall Council has been looking at in the last few months, about getting one set up.
‘If there is a designated site they will have to go there and pay money so that they are not just ending up in the local parks causing trouble for residents.
‘Last year they took over one of the parks completely and it looked like a poor man’s Butlin’s. They stopped the residents from actually being able to use the park.’
Charity Friends, Families and Travellers, said it was ‘disgusted’ at Mr Bird’s generalisations and words filled with ‘hate.’
The charity seeks to end racism and discrimination against Gypsies, Travellers and Roma and to protect the right to pursue a nomadic way of life.
Phien O’Reachtagian, chairman of the Gypsy and Traveller Coalition said: ‘We will be looking to make a formal complaint and liaise with police.’
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