"If I say we're going to war, we're going to war"

"I've had a chequered past but what happened in the past doesn't mean I can't help people. Yes, I've had numerous attempts on my life. People in some circles in the traveller community know me as The Devil, because of how far I would go. I would go to any lengths to protect my family. I would still today. I hate bullies."

No sooner have I got my reporters' notepad out and Tommy Joyce - one of Manchester's most feared hardmen - launches into a passionate speech in the living room of his rather nice three-bed semi detached home in Middleton. He doesn't sleep there though. More on that later.

As the M.E.N's crime reporter, I've written plenty of stories about Tommy, all about his liking for violence, but this is the first time I've had a proper chat with him and I can only say he is charm personified. Polite society's obsession with hardened criminals is long-established but there is something a bit different about Tommy, another side to the bare-knuckle brawler. He's a man on a mission to tackle racism against traveller communities, dubbed 'the last acceptable form of racism' by travellers themselves.

In December, he led about 300 people on a loud but peaceful march through Manchester city centre, protesting against how Greater Manchester Police had turned away mostly young travellers coming into the city centre for the Christmas markets. Shocking video showed officers forcing children back onto trains at Victoria railway station.

GMP was accused of a 'heavy-handed and discriminatory action'. The Traveller Movement said it was 'shocking' and 'completely unacceptable'. The incident prompted questions from Greater Manchester's deputy mayor Kate Green, who has responsibility for scrutinising policing. She ordered a review and