The Ferret headlines

Royal family events, major UK sporting occasions, airlines and English councils have used Scottish land to clean up their carbon emissions, despite claims such 'offsets' are a "greenwashing scam" and harm land reform efforts.

Analysis by The Ferret has found carbon credits, or 'offsets', produced by trees planted in Scotland have been bought by events including motorsport rallies, the Queen's state funeral and her Platinum Jubilee.

Other buyers include British Airways, councils in Devon and Norwich and luxury fashion brand Burberry.

Buying carbon credits theoretically 'offsets' carbon emissions created by events and companies by funding tree planting and peatland projects that absorb CO2 from the atmosphere. The credits are supposed to be used to mop up an organisation's unavoidable emissions.

However an MSP and a former boss of Scotland's environment watchdog said buying carbon credits was the "easy, short-term option" for organisations, unless they had "exhausted all possibility of reducing their own emissions".

The use of carbon credits is "a greenwashing scam" that "does nothing to cut carbon pollution," one green campaigner argued.

Companies do not have to buy the credits and some do so because of a genuine commitment to protecting the environment. The firms and events who bought Scotland-generated credits told The Ferret offsets were only a small part of the actions they were taking to reduce their climate impacts.

We found that Ascot racecourse, in Berkshire, bought Scottish credits to compensate for emissions produced by a 'net zero enclosure' at its famous Royal Ascot event. The London Marathon purchased them to make up for pollution produced by international travel to the race.

Upmarket pizza oven company Ooni also bought credits, partly to make up for emissions produced by its own anniversary celebrations.

Once redeemed, each credit permits its owner to emit one tonne of CO2, because the equivalent amount has been absorbed. Some believe carbon credits will play an important role in tackling the climate crisis, by attracting money into projects to revive nature and capture carbon.

But in Scotland, there are also concerns about how competition for sites to produce the credits is driving up rural land prices, potentially shutting out local communities from owning land. A 2023 study found that ownership of Scotland's forests is becoming increasingly dominated by wealthy estates, investors and absentee owners who live outside Scotland.

Swathes of land across the country are currently earmarked for tree planting and peatland restoration projects which will generate offsets. Some landowners who sell carbon credits do so with the aid of millions of pounds of taxpayer subsidies and a wide range of tax relief, as we detailed in February.

Revealed: Politicians, billionaires and offshore firms' taxpayer forestry handouts

Our new findings come from analysis of a public register of carbon credits assigned to organisations in the last three years.

The Ferret's previous research, in 2022, found weapons manufacturers, the Labour Party, and financial institutions that poured billions of pounds into fossil fuels were among those buying Scottish carbon credits. They were generated on land owned by Scotland's richest man, private equity companies and property firms.

That followed the revelation in 2020 that senior Scottish Government forestry officials feared that a £5m tree-planting deal with Shell - which earns carbon credits for the oil giant - could be viewed as "greenwashing".

Most of the credits sold over the last few years are known as 'pending issuance units' (PIUs), which cannot be used to offset emissions immediately because planted trees are not yet mature. In fact, some might not be ready until the early 22nd century. The average PIU was estimated to cost £23.30, according to the Woodland Carbon Code.

The register only includes the sale of credits to companies who agree to be named publicly, so some buyers may remain secr...

"Abusive" lawsuits used to silence sexual assault survivors, activists, journalists and others trying to report on matters of public interest must be tackled imminently, the Scottish Government has been told.

Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs), which lawyers have described as "an abuse of the legal process", are designed to remove information from the public domain or prevent it being published in the first place.

Campaigners, and an MSP who hosted a discussion about SLAPPs this week, argue the lawsuits are designed to shut down freedom of expression, and are urging ministers to take action in order to "protect our democracy".

Many people threatened with a SLAPP do not have the time or money to legally defend themselves, and Scottish courts and judges have inadequate powers to dismiss the lawsuits.

As such, SLAPPs allow wealthy and powerful individuals and organisations to shut down scrutiny, and make it harder for bodies such as law enforcement agencies to gather information needed to tackle wrongdoing.

A petition urging the Scottish Government to tackle SLAPPs, from the former SNP MP, Roger Mullin, led to a consultation in which stakeholders are invited to share their experience of legal abuse - and present opportunities for reform - with ministers. The consultation closes on 23 May.

SLAPPs are a threat to democracy and we hope the consultation is the first step towards stamping them out.

Nik Williams, Scotland Anti-Slapp Working Group

The Scotland Anti-SLAPP Working Group argues that regulators have not responded to the threat of the lawsuits, and that government inaction would contradict ministers' commitments to protect human rights.

Scotland is falling behind international efforts to tackle SLAPPs, it claimed, and pointed to progress made by the EU, the Council of Europe, US states and Canadian provinces.

The working group says the Scottish Government must quickly adopt an anti-SLAPP law to allow courts and judges to throw out SLAPP actions at the earliest stage possible.

To ensure a level playing field, the group said costs for those defending themselves must be minimised, and a defence fund should be established to protect public watchdogs and journalists from SLAPPs.

Meanwhile, those filing SLAPPs must face higher costs and sanctions for choosing to do so, it added.

Too many people have been caught up in this issue when they are simply trying to use their voice to speak the truth.

Michelle Thomson MSP, SNP

On 7 May, the SNP MSP Michelle Thomson held a roundtable discussion about SLAPPs, which included victims of legal abuse.

"I'm pleased to support the petition of Roger Mullin and the work underway to stop SLAPPs being used in Scotland," she told The Ferret. "Too many people have been caught up in this issue when they are simply trying to use their voice to speak the truth.

"The Scottish Government has launched a consultation and I would encourage everyone to complete it. Taking action is a necessary step to protect our democracy."

Nik Williams, convenor of the Scotland Anti-Slapp Working Group, said: "The consultation on SLAPPs is the first opportunity for Scotland to address the kind of legal threats that silence journalists, sexual violence survivors, social media users and everyone who speaks out.

"As well as preventing people from expressing themselves, SLAPPs prevent everyone from being able to receive the information they need to play an active role in society.

"They are a threat to democracy and we hope the consultation is the first step towards stamping them out."

The Ferret is an independent, investigative journalism cooperative dedicated to holding power to account. Since 2015, we have reported on corruption, environmental issues, human rights, and political influence in Scotland. Our work is supported by members who believe in journalism that challenges, exposes, and informs. If you value in-depth, fact-based reporting, you can support our work by becoming a member. Join us today: ...

The latest frontier of Scotland's industry may well be space, with significant investment being made in this emerging sector.

As part of our Who Runs Scotland series, we've been looking at this burgeoning industry and some of the organisations and individuals involved.

Space launch was long the preserve of governments, but in the last two decades it has been revolutionised by private companies - most notably Elon Musk's SpaceX.

Scotland - home to advanced satellite manufacturing capabilities, data analysis expertise and a satellite launch market - is vying to be a leading space nation and offers several benefits for launching satellites.

Its northerly latitude allows satellites to cover a wide range of the Earth's surface for observation and communication, and vast stretches of unpopulated land, particularly in the Highlands and Islands, provide ideal launch sites.

MPs were told recently that a new spaceport called SaxaVord, on the island of Unst, Shetland will be ready for satellite launches by July. It has been touted as the UK's "Cape Canaveral".

The UK Space Agency says that 228 organisations in Scotland, employing more than 8,000 people, generated a combined income of £298m in 2021/22, almost double the amount for 2018/19. Space Scotland - a not-for-profit company set up in 2021 to support the sector - estimates the workforce could increase fivefold by 2030.

Those involved in the sector include astronaut Tim Peake, Scotland's richest man Anders Povlsen, a Ukrainian billionaire once accused of being a Russian spy, and a Pakistani philanthropist based in the US.

Who are Scotland's richest people?

More than £106m in grants has been awarded by the UK Space Agency to projects in Scotland over the last decade, a freedom of information request by The Ferret has revealed.

Highlands and Islands Enterprise invested £2.087m into a spaceport in Sutherland and paid £1.963m in grant funding to Orbex for costs associated with developing the site.

Rocket firms

Orbex

Orbex Express Launch specialises in small and medium-sized rockets. The private firm registered in Kent - with a premises in Forres, Moray - aims to launch a rocket called Prime from SaxaVord this summer.

Last December Orbex said it would pause construction of a spaceport in Sutherland to instead focus on its Shetland site. The firm has received £20m in funding from the UK Government.

Its other investors include the state-owned Export & Investment Fund of Denmark (EIFO), a venture capital company headquartered in London, called Octopus Ventures, and Sohaib Abbasi, a Pakistani-American investor who is the former CEO of software firm, Informatica.

Skyrora

Skyrora Limited has a space rocket engine factory in Cumbernauld and is hoping to fire small satellites into space from the Shetland Isles. Its parent firm is Skyrora Ventures Limited, a company registered in England and Wales.

Skyrora has received £2.5m of taxpayers' money from the UK Space Agency, and £3m from the European Space Agency. It is ultimately owned by a Ukrainian-born tech entrepreneur called Max Polyakov, who is based in Edinburgh.

In 2022, the US authorities forced Polyakov to sell his shares in Firefly Aerospace, a Texas-based rocket maker, amid claims he was a Russian spy. Polyakov strongly disputed the claims and that he posed any threat to US national security, but complied with the order. Last year, however, the US Treasury Department released him from these restrictions.

The British astronaut Tim Peake is on Skyrora's advisory board.

Rocket Factory Augsburg (RFA)

Founded in 2018, RFA is a German firm from Augsburg using 3D printing to make low-cost rockets. Its RFA One launcher "enables small satellites to get into low-Earth orbit flexibly and on a budget", according to its website. The firm operates in Germany, Portugal, Sweden and Scotland.

In January, the firm announced it had received its spaceflight operator licence from the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). The licence allows the launch of its 30...

The defence sector is one of Scotland's most controversial industries, and regularly lobbies ministers and MSPs.

As part of our Who Runs Scotland series, The Ferret has looked at the sector and its major players

We found that arms firms have held 99 meetings with MSPs since the last election.

An estimated 13,250 people are employed by Scotland's defence sector and with defence now an urgent priority for the UK Government - due to the perceived threat from Russia - that number will likely increase.

A trade body called ADS Group Scotland promotes the defence sector (as well as aerospace, defence, naval and security) to policymakers at Holyrood and Westminster. In 2022, the sector had a £7.3bn turnover and employed 33,500 people directly.

Defence is reserved to Westminster and the Ministry of Defence is responsible for defence contracts. But the Scottish Government can award grants to arms firms for projects in Scotland, via its business agency Scottish Enterprise.

ADS has 1400 members in the UK. Out of the 19 organisations that form ADS Scotland's council, 13 are headquartered abroad or in England.

Its Scotland council also includes three Scottish academic institutions: St Andrews University; Strathclyde University and Ayrshire College.

We previously revealed that five private companies, who employ around three quarters of the arms workforce in the arms industry, had thousands of closed door meetings with the UK Government between 2011 and 2020.

The access at Westminster given to BAE Systems, Leonardo, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon (now RTX) and Thales, amounted to 2217 meetings with the UK Government. including 40 when representatives from the prime minister's office were present, lasting a collective 58 hours.

We also found that 87 people who worked for one of these five firms had also worked for the UK Government, making them so-called 'revolving door' employees.

But who are these arms firms who exert influence in Scotland?

Leonardo

The Italian multinational Leonardo builds avionics technology and employs over 2000 people in Edinburgh. It is a major manufacturer of radars, lasers and infrared countermeasure systems for helicopters and aircraft. Leonardo is on the ADS Scotland Council.

RTX (formerly Raytheon Technologies)

RTX is a US arms giant that employs 1,900 people in Scotland. Raytheon makes electronics systems for smart bombs in Glenrothes, Fife, and anti-drone technology in Livingston. RTX is on the ADS Scotland Council.

Thales

The French arms multinational employs 780 people in Glasgow and Rosyth. Thales Glasgow facility has been the sole supplier of periscopes to the Royal Navy since the First World War. It has a £169m contract to provide periscopes for the new class of Dreadnought nuclear deterrent submarines. Thales is on the ADS Scotland Council.

Lockheed Martin

The US arms company employs 327 staff in Glasgow. Lockheed Martin UK, headquartered in London, is the UK-based arm of Lockheed Martin Corporation, a US global security and aerospace company.

BAE Systems

The UK arms giant employs 2700 people in Scotland. The company operates two

shipyards at Govan and Scotstoun, as well as operations in Hillend and Bishopton. BAE is on the ADS Scotland Council.

Babcock International

The UK defence multinational works with the Royal Navy at Rosyth and HMNB Cluge at Helensburgh, also known as Faslane. It has 29 sites in Scotland and 100 staff. The firm says it also supports more than 3,000 jobs. Babcock is on the ADS Scotland Council.

The Ferret is an independent, investigative journalism cooperative dedicated to holding power to account.

Since 2015, we have reported on corruption, environmental issues, human rights, and political influence in Scotland.

Our work is supported by members who believe in journalism that challenges, exposes, and informs. If you value in-depth, fact-based reporting, you can support our work by becoming a member.

Join us today

Featured image is of an RAF Eurofighter Typhoon FGR4. Credit: iStock and W...

In his bid to boost nuclear power, the prime minister Keir Starmer ignored warnings from his nuclear safety watchdog that it was inaccurate to blame regulation for delays, The Ferret can reveal.

A document released under freedom of information law discloses that the UK's Office for Nuclear Regulation told the government that claims about delays to nuclear power, made in an initial draft of an announcement by Starmer, were "not true".

However, the claims were repeated in the prime minister's final announcement in February, which said the Labour government would "rip up rules to fire up nuclear power".

Campaigners said they were appalled by Starmer's "cynical and unprofessional" approach, accusing him of "ignorant prejudice" and of borrowing language from a right wing pressure group. They warned that weakening the regulation of nuclear plants would put public safety at risk.

The draft release also quoted the energy secretary, Ed Miliband, promising that nuclear power would be "built by unionised British workers". But that was changed in the published version to say that nuclear power would create "thousands of skilled jobs".

The Labour government in London under Starmer and Miliband has become an enthusiastic cheerleader for nuclear power. Ministers are keen to kickstart a new nuclear building programme "to grow the economy and deliver cleaner, more affordable energy".

Scottish Labour under Anas Sarwar MSP has also become a strong supporter of nuclear power. Labour and the Conservatives have been piling pressure on the SNP's Scottish Government to abandon its long-held opposition to the building of any new nuclear stations.

Safety warnings as cracks rise at Torness nuclear plant

The Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) is an independent body set up by the government to ensure nuclear safety. It was asked to comment on a draft government press release announcing a new taskforce to speed up the regulation of nuclear power.

In response to a freedom of information request, ONR released a copy of the draft with its annotations making four suggested corrections. The draft was passed to The Ferret.

But none of the corrections were implemented when Starmer made the announcement on 6 February, promising to "put Britain back in the global race for nuclear energy".

The draft release stated that three European regulatory regimes had reached "different assessments" of the design of the two reactors being built at Hinkley Point C in Somerset, "leading to delays and increased costs".

ONR pointed out that this was "not accurate", and that it had refuted such claims before. "Our feeling is that linking regulatory factors into the increasing Hinkley Point C costs and timeframes isn't true and the sentence doesn't stand up," it said.

ONR also suggested that the new taskforce should not look at the "approval" of new reactor designs, as suggested in the draft, but their "deployment". Delays had been caused by construction problems, not safety regulation, it argued.

"The approval of reactor designs is a small aspect of ONR's regulatory regime and not a rate-determining factor," ONR said. "The reactor approval process has no bearing on the overall speed of delivery, but rather construction."

Neither amendment was made in Starmer's announcement, which reiterated the disputed wording from the draft. It also included a slew of much stronger language about "slashing red tape to get Britain building".

Two other amendments suggested by ONR - pointing out that Hinkley Point C had been "built over many years" and that the "international alignment" of regulators was already happening - were also rejected.

Nuclear power delays

The energy company EDF predicted in 2007 that electricity from Hinkley Point C would be cooking Christmas turkeys in 2017. It has since been repeatedly delayed, with EDF saying in January 2024 that the station might not be finished until 2031.

The estimated total cost of building the plant has risen from £18bn in 2016 to £35bn in 2024. ...

Experts have warned that far right groups are weaponising Christianity for their political agendas and have urged churches to speak out against right-wing extremism.

They said groups like Britain First and supporters of the jailed far right activist Tommy Robinson are increasingly using Christian rhetoric to try and build support for their political causes.

The Scottish Government is also monitoring the issue. A response to a freedom of information request by The Ferret revealed its safer communities division suggested staff attend a recent seminar called Christianity and Far Right Extremism, hosted by a think tank called Theos.

The organisers said far right extremism has gained ground over recent years in the US and UK, and has sometimes done so by using Christian language, symbols and imagery.

Far right groups claiming to be Christian include Britain First. In 2014, its members targeted mosques across the UK with bibles, calling it a 'Christian crusade'. Supporters also paraded through Muslim-majority areas of UK cities, with large crosses.

One of the speakers at the Theos webinar was Dr Maria Power, a senior research fellow at the University of Oxford. She is co-editor of The Church, the Far Right, and the Claim to Christianity, a book published last year on the church's response to the rise of the far right.

The toxic and divisive rhetoric of the far right have no place in our society.

Roz Foyer, STUC

Power told The Ferret: "One of the main problems facing the churches in dealing with right-wing extremism is the fact that many of the 'extremists' are speaking and spreading hate from within the church. The Christian churches need to exercise their teaching authority more and speak out against such examples of right-wing extremism, demonstrating how these belief systems are counter to the teachings of Christianity."

She said one of the best things churches can do to combat right-wing extremism is to fund youth work. "At present, not enough funding is being directed towards youth work, either in the churches or within society as a whole, and this is a fundamental problem. Young people need community, and right-wing extremist groups provide this for them when the churches don't."

Patrik Hermansson, senior researcher at the anti-racism charity HOPE not hate, said there are many groups that connect themselves with Christianity. The clearest example is probably Britain First, he told The Ferret, adding that "increasingly Tommy Robinson's supporters have begun using this rhetoric as well".

Another factor is US influence, which Hermansson said, has been increasing for a number of years. He claimed some of this "relates to Christian institutions funding far right activity in the UK, and US reactionaries building relationships with Christian reactionary groups and activists in the UK."

Donald Trump's US election win "spurred on the far right in the UK and is generally supported by it", he added with the caveat "it is probably too early to tell of outright influence."

Last week a summit aimed at tackling the threat from the far right, hosted by first minister John Swinney, was held in Scotland. About 50 organisations, including political parties, faith groups and charities, attended the forum in Glasgow. Swinney claimed that shared values were under "huge threat" from disinformation and pressure from the "hard right".

All Holyrood parties except the Conservatives attended the event. Nigel Farage's Reform UK party was not invited. Farage claimed Reform was "never part of the far right".

Britain First, the Catholic Church and Church of Scotland were asked to comment.

From Moscow to Glasgow: Twenty years of tracking far right hate

Home Office withheld information about Scots far right party due to 'national security'

Meanwhile, a separate request for information by The Ferret about a far right political party registered in Scotland was refused by the Home Office, which cited concerns surrounding "national security".

We asked the UK Go...

Only 11 of more than 1,000 deaths in Scottish mental health wards over the last decade have been investigated by Scotland's public body overseeing the welfare of patients, according to a new report by Glasgow University.

The study - Nothing to see here - is the fourth annual monitoring report on deaths in state care by the university's Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice Research (SCCJR).

Published this week, it examines deaths in prison, police custody, migration detention and asylum accommodation and of those sectioned under a compulsory order by the Mental Health Act. It also highlights the deaths of children and young people in care and of people with learning difficulties or who are autistic and living in hospital.

Researchers found that a total of 244 people died in these settings of "state control" last year alone. More than half of those - 138 people in total - died after being sectioned in mental health facilities.

Only two investigations into deaths were published in 2024 by statutory body, the Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland (MWCS), the report notes. A further two court-ordered fatal accident inquiries into the deaths of people detained on mental health grounds were also published, according to the report.

Deaths not investigated

In England and Wales all deaths in mental health detention will be investigated by a public coronial inquest but in Scotland fatal accident inquiries are not mandatory in mental health settings although they must be carried out following a death in prison or police custody.

Professor Sarah Armstrong, one of the report's authors, said all deaths of those who had been sectioned should be investigated so that lessons could be learned and lives saved, a call backed by campaigners.

The commission said it was in discussions with the Scottish Government about expanding its remit for investigations into deaths.

Over the past decade 1,232 people have died while detained or under a compulsory order. The number of people who have been detained has increased, and the number of people who have died has also increased. The percent of the total people detained has remained consistently between 1.1 to 1.3 percent.

Armstrong said: "The current process for which deaths are investigated and which are not is not always clear what criteria is used. The whole system is opaque."

She said it was "surprising" that while the Mental Welfare Commission had "done some hard hitting and quite critical investigations" these were only carried out for a small number of deaths.

Armstrong and her team are highly critical of the fatal accident process, which they say is too slow, insensitive to families and fails to make binding recommendations. But she added: "There should be some sort of mandatory, transparent investigation for anyone who dies while in the detention of the state."

She also raised concerns about the increase in the number of people from deprived communities being sectioned, claiming that previous work into deaths in state care showed that families from these communities would have additional barriers in advocating for themselves and their loved ones.

No cause of death is given in the statistics released by the Mental Welfare Commission but there have been concerns raised about the number of suicides in mental health wards.

Suicide and self harm causing deaths of young people in care

An investigation by the BBC in March 2025 found that a patient takes their own life in Scotland's mental health hospitals nearly every five weeks on average, with families raising concerns that not enough was being done to protect vulnerable people.

It also found that the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) had issued improvement notices to three hospitals - one in Highland, another in Lanarkshire and a third in Forth Valley - in recent years for failing to reduce the risks of patient suicides.

In 2023 student Jake Llewellyn, who was just 26, died at Forth Valley Royal Hospital in Larbert, near Falkirk. A police investig...

The power and influence of the wealthiest in society has been one of the main themes of The Ferret's Who Runs Scotland series.

We've looked at how powerful people and actors have leveraged their influence to impact policy and government decision-making.

But who are Scotland's richest people, and how did they make their money? As part of Who Runs Scotland, we've taken a look.

1. Anders Holch Povlsen

What is their net worth? £6.73bn - 24th richest person in the UK (Sunday Times Rich list)

How did they make their fortune? Fashion, online shopping, financial services

Anders Holch Povlsen is Scotland's richest man, and has been measured by Forbes as one of the 200 wealthiest people on the planet.

His primary business interest has been retailer Bestseller, which began as a small shop run by Povlsen's parents in the Danish town of Ringkobing. He took over the firm aged 28, and has built it into a multimillion pound fashion empire with 2,800 shops across 44 countries.

Bestseller owns a number of well-known brands, including Jack & Jones, Only & Sons, and Lil Atelier. The firm also owns part of the Topshop and Topman brands, and is a major shareholder in online clothes retailer ASOS.

He and his wife Anne bought the 42,000-acre Glenfeshie estate in the Cairngorms for £8m in 2006, and through their company Wildland, they are attempting a significant, although at times controversial, rewilding project in the area. They are Scotland's largest private landowners, according to research from Who Owns Scotland.

Povlsen's firm secretly lobbied Scottish Government ministers in 2020 in opposition to a proposed spaceport in Sutherland, near to one of his estates. The billionaire reportedly has a significant stake in a separate spaceport in the northern tip of the Shetland Islands.

He also faced criticism after private jets he owned made over 1,000 flights in four years, despite his reputation as a champion of the environment. A number of flights were made from Denmark to Inverness, before Povlsen celebrated his 50th birthday. Pop legend Lionel Richie was reportedly flown in for the lavish bash, at Aldourie Castle on the banks of Loch Ness.

2. Glenn Gordon and family

What is their net worth? £5.619bn - 36th in UK

How did they make their fortune? Drinks industry

The chairman of William Grant and Sons, Gordon is a descendant of the company's founder.

His company owns some of Scotland and the world's most well-known drinks brands, including whiskies like Glenfiddich, Balvenie, Hendrick's gin and Sailor Jerry rum.

The firm faced an inquiry in 2025 over its acquisition of the Famous Grouse brand by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), but the deal was cleared after an investigation.

Gordon, who is now based in Jersey, is a director of William Grant and Sons alongside his cousin Peter, who preceded Gordon as chairman of the firm.

3. Sir Ian Wood and family

What is their net worth? £1.911bn - 88th in UK

How did they make their fortune? Oil and gas services

Sir Ian Wood is one of Scotland's highest-profile businessmen. The company he founded, Wood group, has become an oil services multinational with operations in more than 50 countries.

He retired as chairman in 2012, but remains a director of JW Holdings, which is one of Scotland's largest fishing firms.

Since leaving Wood, he has spent time on various business interests, including Opportunity North East (ONE), a group which promotes entrepreneurial growth in north east Scotland.

The Aberdeen-born businessman has exerted influence over Scottish and UK Government policy, In 2013, he undertook a review of how the UK's recovery of oil and gas could be maximised, with his recommendations being accepted by ministers. Wood has also regularly made public political interventions, querying the Scottish Government's predictions on oil and gas before the Scottish independence referendum in 2014.

He also belatedly expressed support for Brexit, having voted to stay in Europe in the 2016 referendum.

4. Mahdi...

Unions have called for urgent clarity from Edinburgh university after it published an "incorrect" memo that said the cash-strapped institution had purchased an iconic A-listed office block while it was laying off staff.

An internal communication from the university to staff in late March - shared with The Ferret - said it had bought the former Scottish Widows building opposite Edinburgh's Commonwealth swimming pool the previous month.

However in response to queries from The Ferret, a spokesperson for the university denied it had bought the building. They did not explain how the miscommunication had occurred.

Pressed further, a spokesperson said "at this stage, all we can say is that any information suggesting the university has bought the building is incorrect".

The property on Dalkeith Road in the Newington area of the city is known for its distinctive brown hexagonal buildings.

Staff reacted with anger and disappointment to the confusion around the purchase, while the union said it had now lost any remaining trust it had in management.

The information was shared in an online post just weeks after the university announced £140m of cuts over the next 18 months. The Ferret understands the post was taken down a few days later.

This week the university said 350 staff had left through a voluntary severance scheme launched in January and that academic promotions would be frozen for the 2025-26 year. The university has not ruled out further compulsory redundancies.

On Friday the University and College Union (UCU) branch released an analysis claiming that up to 2,000 jobs might be at risk and more money than ever is being spent on buildings.

The memo said the Scottish Widows building was bought as part of the university's "capital plan" to continue its commitment to "world-class facilities" for students and staff.

The UCU called for urgent answers over the confusion and clarity about whether buying the property was, or is, under consideration.

The university told staff it had purchased the building in answer to a question posted on an internal online hub. The Ferret understands the question reflected longstanding rumours circulating amongst Edinburgh staff.

The union said the rumours were fuelled by the lack of "transparency and accountability" surrounding capital expenditure at the university. It claimed "finance and capital" were "driving the direction of the university rather than teaching and research".

Scottish Labour said "overstretched" university finances meant it was "more important than ever" that "all financial decisions are sound and high standards of transparency are being held".

The Dalkeith Road site has been vacant since 2020.

But plans to redevelop it into a 'business hub' and nearly 200 apartments - of which 35 per cent were expected to be 'affordable' - were approved by the council in 2023.

The cost of that refurbishment - which would include replacement of the building's glass façade because it contained "significant amounts of asbestos" - was previously estimated to be £100m.

University of Edinburgh management has blamed factors including a fall in the recruitment of international students, "longstanding" underfunding of Scottish undergraduates and rising staff costs for its financial troubles.

But the UCU - which is balloting members on strike action - has accused senior staff of "manufacturing a crisis" to justify cuts and claim the biggest threat to its finances is "unrestrained" capital spending on things like buildings.

Over 400 university staff earn more than the first minister

A number of universities across Scotland - including Dundee, Robert Gordon and Aberdeen - are facing financial problems.

The body that represents Scotland's higher education institutions, Universities Scotland, argues the root cause of the crisis is underfunding. The amount the Scottish Government gives universities for each Scottish student has declined in real terms for more than a decade.

Universities have become increasingly d...

Nearly a third of Scotland's most-read national newspapers are owned in a US tax haven - and that proportion may soon rise to half, The Ferret can reveal.

As part of our Who Runs Scotland series, The Ferret analysed the ownership of the 21 national newspapers that adults in Scotland say they read - both in print and online - according to media regulator Ofcom's 2024 news survey.

We found that six titles are owned by companies incorporated in Delaware, US, where it is easy to set up corporate entities without disclosing the true owners.

The publishers behind four papers more are the target of a takeover bid involving an investment firm based in the tax haven state.

Not one of the seven companies that own the most-read Scottish titles are incorporated in Scotland.

Other than the six newspapers incorporated in Delaware, three are owned in Jersey, and 10 are owned in England, while the ownership of two more are in limbo. Media reform campaigners said Holyrood and Westminster must do more to prevent concentrated media ownership.

Tax campaigners claimed the Delaware-ownership of Scottish media created a risk of "tax abuse", and that secrecy provisions in the US state could allow anonymous owners to "subvert domestic politics" via their newspapers' content.

Who owns Scotland's papers?

Reach PLC publishes the most Scottish nationals - the Daily Record, Sunday Mail, Daily Star of Scotland, Scottish Daily Express and Scottish Sunday Express, as well as The Mirror and online publications including Glasgow Live and Edinburgh Live.

The London-based firm is chaired by Nicholas Prettejohn, who also chairs TSB Banking Group, and is an independent director of the polling firm, YouGov. Jim Mullen, Reach's chief executive, held senior roles at gambling firms and News International - which is now called News UK.

The London-based News UK publishes the Scottish Sun, Scottish Sun on Sunday, and the Scotland editions of The Times and Sunday Times. Chief executive Rebekah Brooks once edited The Sun, and the News of World tabloid, which ceased publication following a phone hacking scandal.

News UK's parent, News Corp, which is incorporated in Delaware, is owned by the family of billionaire media baron, Rupert Murdoch, and chaired by his son, Lachlan.

Also incorporated in Delaware is Gannett, which owns The Herald, Herald on Sunday, The National and the Sunday National, plus the Scottish Farmer and more than 20 Scottish locals including the Glasgow Times.

Its titles are published by Newsquest Media Group, which is headquartered in London and has a registered office in Newport, Wales.

Ownership of The Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph - both of which have Scotland editions - is in a state of limbo. The billionaire Barclay family agreed to pass ownership to a fund bankrolled by the United Arab Emirates' royal family after it paid off their debts.

But after the UK Government intervened to block ownership by a foreign state, the fund withdrew its bid.

A free and healthy democracy depends on a free and independent media.

A spokesperson for the Media Reform Coalition

In March, US businessman, Todd Boehly, and Northern Irish media mogul, David Montgomery, made a joint bid to buy the Telegraph titles and the Leeds-based National World, which owns The Scotsman, Scotland on Sunday and 19 Scottish locals including Edinburgh Evening News.

Boehly is acting via a media arm of his investment firm, Eldridge Industries, which is incorporated in Delaware. If his bid is successful, 50 per cent of Scotland's most-read newspapers would be at least partly owned in the US tax haven state.

Billionaire Lord Rothermere, another press baron, is a controller and executive director of the London-based Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT). It owns the Scottish Daily Mail, Scottish Mail on Sunday and the Scottish editions of the Metro and the i Paper, via its DMG Media subsidiary.

Rothermere owns DMGT via the Jersey-registered Rothermere Continuation Limited, a company controlled via ...