A judge is under investigation over remarks suggesting that travellers “around the country” were keeping slaves.

Timothy Spencer QC was sentencing 11 members of the Rooney family at Nottingham Crown Court when he made the remarks earlier this month.

They were jailed for a total of 79 years for running a modern slavery ring that targeted vulnerable people in Lincolnshire.

Addressing the defendants over claims made in their defence, he said: “You claim that what went on at Drinsey was no different from what was going on at any travellers camp around the country – that all travellers had workers operating under similar conditions.

“Sadly I very much fear that you may be correct on that.”

The National Alliance of Gypsy Traveller and Roma Women has launched a formal complaint over the “very damaging” statement.

The complaint to the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office (JCIO) said there was “no proof at all” that the Rooney’s practices were being carried out by other travellers.

“It was the task of Judge Spencer to deliver sentence on those individuals who had been convicted of offences, and not to speculate in regard to what others of the same ethnicity might do,” it added.

The hands of one of the Rooney family's victims (Lincolnshire Police)

“We would ask you to consider how this statement would be received were it aimed at and stereotyped any other ethnic group."

Shay Clipson, chair of the Alliance, said the Rooney family’s crimes should not have been linked to their ethnicity.

She told The Independent: “The judge’s comments have the potential to demonise an entire group of people and lead the general public not only to fear gypsies and travellers, but to assume that we are all involved in such activities.

“His comments will encourage even more discrimination and have the potential to have an adverse effect of the ability of gypsies and travellers to earn a living and support their families, to access somewhere to live or stop over.

“With that comes difficulty accessing health care and education for our children, who already suffer a great deal of bullying at school without the judge making such damaging comments.”

The JCIO confirmed it was investigating Judge Spencer in connection with the Rooney case.

The court had heard that the Rooneys were “chilling in their mercilessness” towards victims, who were beaten and left without running water and sanitation in squalid conditions.

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A total of 11 relatives – 10 men and one woman – were convicted for modern slavery and fraud offences

The Rooney family ran a driveway resurfacing company, illegally bringing 18 men to properties in Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire and London and forcing them to work.

Members of the gang sought out targets in the streets, hostels and shelters, offering work for food and accommodation at sites in Drinsey Nook and Washingborough, then using false promises, drugs, alcohol and violence to entrap them.

Many of the victims, aged between 18 and 63, were homeless, while others had learning disabilities or complex drug and alcohol issues. One man had been working for the family for 26 years.

While the gang members lived in luxurious homes, bought high-performance cars and enjoyed holidays to Barbados and cosmetic surgery, their slaves were undernourished and kept in squalid caravans or kennels, with little access to heating, water and toilets.

When the victims were eventually freed during raids by Lincolnshire Police and the National Crime Agency in 2014, one man described life with the Rooneys as “a living hell“.