As I just argued in another thread, the term ‘gypsy’ is the word that another ethnic group in Britain uses to describe themselves. It’s not a slur to them.
The Roma object to being called gypsies because they are not gypsies. But the gypsies are.
We asked many members of the Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities how they preferred to describe themselves. While some find the term “Gypsy” to be offensive, many stakeholders and witnesses were proud to associate themselves with this term and so we have decided that it is right and proper to use it, where appropriate, throughout the report.
Also,
In continental Europe, however, all groups with nomadic histories are categorised as “Roma”, a much broader term that, while it includes Gypsies and Irish Travellers, is not the way in which most British communities would identify themselves.
Of course, both groups have faced (and still face) terrible discrimination but it’s not because of the word ‘gypsy’.