A far right German politician who handed out weapons and met with neo-Nazis is set to speak at the Homeland Party's UK conference focused on the mass deportation of migrants.

Alternative For Germany (AfD) politician, Lena Kotré, reportedly distributed Kubotans - self-defence stabbing weapons which are legal in Germany but banned in the UK - at campaign events in Berlin last year.

Kotré, who was reelected to the Brandenburg state parliament in 2024, claimed the weapons would help Germans protect themselves against violence.

She has been confirmed as a speaker at an April conference run by the Homeland Party, which is led by a Scot and registered at a West Lothian address.

The fringe far right party has no elected representatives, but an international counter-extremism organisation claimed the AfD was giving "validation or credibility" to Homeland, which it branded as a small group of "white supremacists".

Homeland dismissed the comments, however, and argued it was not extreme for Europeans to want to "protect their own ethnic identity, culture and homeland".

Also speaking at Homeland's event is the man behind a conspiracy theory cited by white supremacists and mass murderers, as we reported in February.

Author of slogan cited by white supremacist murderers invited to UK by far right party

Far right 'remigration policy'

Homeland says the April conference in England will explore "remigration", which the party describes as removing "illegal, unintegrated, and unwelcome migrants" from the UK.

Kotré last year attended a neo-Nazi conference in Switzerland in which she discussed remigration, an undercover probe by German investigative outlet, Correctiv, revealed.

The far right politician reportedly told attendees she wants DNA samples to be used to determine the origins of migrants in order to deport them to their supposed home countries.

In a social media post, Homeland described Kotré as a "prominent voice extolling the benefits of remigration", which can be "commercially profitable for private enterprise".

Revealed: supporters of Scots far-right group possess weapons

Homeland, which has active members in Scotland, says nationalism should be based on land and the "law of blood" - in which citizens are defined by ancestry. The far right party also hosted an AfD representative at its 2024 conference.

A spokesperson for the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, a counter-extremism think tank, said: "The far right has historically been a transnational phenomenon dating back decades and ideological and tactical exchange is very much the norm between these groups.

"It's concerning to see someone from the AfD, which at this point is a major party in Germany, come to a gathering of what is effectively a very small group of white supremacists and give validation or credibility to them."

Homeland's chairman, Kenny Smith, claimed the AfD's historic second place in the recent German election was owed to its remigration policy, which, he argued, "is similar in many ways to the Homeland Party policy".

Kotré "speaks out against the rising tide of immigrant violence sweeping Germany and the sexual violence targeted at women in particular," he said, and had "won the support of many of them by distributing Kubotans free of charge to these concerned constituents."

Smith claimed to know "many women" in the UK who were scared to go outside in some areas due to "the aggressive nature of many of these unwelcome migrants", but were prevented from carrying self-defence weapons due to "our two-tier police state".

Correctiv is an "extreme-left propaganda platform", he alleged. It was "a blatant lie" that Kotré attended a neo-Nazi event, which Smith claimed to be a "political conference".

He also branded IDS, which has also profiled left-wing extremism, as a "misnamed far-left think tank", which "absurdly labels the natural desire many European people have to protect their own ethnic identity, culture and homeland as extreme".

Smith added: "I suspect their conc...

Donald Trump's controversial golf course in Aberdeenshire broke environmental rules last year by again causing damage to sand dunes.

A dune at the US president's course on the Menie estate was eroded after water was pumped onto it following heavy rain in February 2024, according to documents disclosed to The Ferret.

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency was alerted to the damaged dune by a third party, not the course itself.

The green watchdog determined that water environment rules had been broken, although it was considered a "minor" incident.

Course managers said at the time they were doing everything they could to "protect and repair the dune".

The course is known as the Trump International Golf Links and is located around ten miles north of Aberdeen. It has faced continual criticism from environmentalists for causing damage to a 4,000 year old network of mobile dunes.

Dunes around the course were stripped of their status as a site of special scientific interest (SSSI) by Scotland's nature agency after their special features were damaged by the building of the course.

The Trump organisation's track record of broken promises coupled with unsustainable hyperbole does not bode well for the second course.

Dr Jim Hansom, University of Glasgow

A second course is set to open on the Menie estate later this year which Trump International has said will be one of the "most environmentally friendly and sustainable" ever built.

But critics say that claim is "ludicrous" and argued the latest damage to dunes was "further evidence of the contempt with which Trump International treats Scotland's natural heritage".

Trump International said its "vast coastal estate" is maintained to the "highest specifications and environmental standards" year round. It added that clearing work from a "freak storm" had caused "minor damage to a small and isolated area of our dunes which was immediately rectified".

Rule breach

The findings come from a freedom of information response provided to The Ferret by Sepa.

It shows that Sepa contacted Trump International Scotland on 8 February 2024 after it was told that "discharge" from a pipe had caused erosion on the beach side of the dunes, less than half a mile south of the clubhouse.

In emails with Sepa, a representative of the course said it had been pumping water off the first fairway over the dune and on to the beach.

"After 12 hours of pumping we turned the pump off and collected in the hose," they wrote. "We then discovered a 30m length of pipe which was connected onto the larger length of pipe had come off/lost stolen ??"

It was this that had caused the dune to become eroded.

They added: "We will be sure to check this and not leave it 12 hours again if we ever have to undertake this again.

"Please be assured we will do everything we can to protect and repair the dune ridge." Staff were in the process of planting marram grass to stabilise the dunes, the individual noted.

Sepa acknowledged that the damage to the dune was "not intended" but still breached regulations.

A Sepa spokesperson told The Ferret: "This was found to be a breach of a general binding rule related to the discharge of surface water as part of rural land activities.

"The Balmedie dunes form part of a naturally mobile dune system, and it is in the interest of the operator to ensure their stability.

"For these reasons, no further enforcement action was deemed necessary and Sepa has not received any additional information regarding concerns of erosion at this location."

Conservation status

Dunes surrounding Trump International, which opened in 2012, officially lost their SSSI status in 2020.

Wildlife agency NatureScot determined that after the building of the course, the dunes had been altered to the extent that they no longer included "enough of the special natural features for which they were designated".

At that time, Trump International argued it had been singled out and that its "ongoing care of the site far exceeds just about eve...

Human rights checks conducted by Scottish Enterprise on arms firms seeking government grants are to be scrutinised over fears taxpayers' money is funding firms linked to human rights abuses.

The Ferret revealed in 2023 that hundreds of due diligence checks had been made on companies seeking grants from Scottish Enterprise (SE), but no firm had failed, despite some having links to states accused of war crimes, including Israel and Saudi Arabia.

A new human rights procedure was introduced by SE in March 2019, following criticism of the public body for funding arms firms selling to countries with poor human rights records.

The Scottish Government's promise to review human rights checks conducted by SE followed a Scottish Parliament debate yesterday brought by the Scottish Greens in which some MSPs expressed concerns about grants to arms firms.

Deputy first minister Kate Forbes said the government would "review and ensure" that the most robust processes are in place.

SE is a non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government which provides business grants using taxpayers' money.

Its human rights due diligence checks include assessing whether a company has been "associated with human rights abuses anywhere in the world".

Scottish Enterprise criticised over human rights checks on firms selling to Israel and Saudi Arabia

Despite that commitment, SE has given taxpayers' money to firms linked to countries accused of human rights violations in wars in Gaza and Yemen, as well as two Scottish universities linked to illegal West Bank settlements.

A freedom of information request by The Ferret in 2023 revealed that 199 human rights checks had been conducted by SE and every company passed.

Greens co-leader Lorna Slater said: "We welcome the SNP's commitment to review the human rights checks that are applied, but it should not have taken our debate to make them do that."

She added: "The new tests need to be far more robust than anything we have had to date, as no human rights check worthy of the name would allow grants to companies that are complicit in genocide."

Neil Cowan, Scotland programme director at Amnesty International UK, said: "It has long been clear that, with no company ever failing one of the checks, they are not credible and require overhaul.

"It is now essential that the Scottish Government sets out what that review will involve, with it being critical that it includes independent input, review and analysis, and that it is focused on meeting Scotland's international obligations."

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: https://theferret.scot/subscribe

Main image: Aermacchi M346. Credit: Ronnie Macdonald/Wikimedia

Anas Sarwar was criticised by social media users after it was alleged he had criticised Scottish comedy legend Billy Connolly.

An image which spread across X showed the Scottish Labour leader claiming Connolly was "vulgar and outdated" and that he would "end the culture of vulgarness" in Scotland if his party won a majority at the next election.

Ferret Fact Service looked at this claim and found it False.

Evidence

The image that was shared across social media appears to show an online article with the headline "Sarwar says Billy Connolly is outdated vulgar and offensive". The subheadline goes on to state that Sarwar has said he is not a Connolly fan, and "comedians like him do not represent the Scottish people with their vulgar and offensive humor".

It was shared by multiple accounts on X and Facebook, and was reposted hundreds of times, after being shared initially on 23 February.

Scottish Labour denied he ever said this, and a source told The Daily Record it was "weird nationalist disinformation".

Anas Sarwar has previously stated his admiration for Billy Connolly and his comedy, describing him as the "best comedian I have ever had the pleasure to see in the flesh".

The article that has been screenshotted does not appear to be real, and Ferret Fact Service could not find any reference to it or similar articles referencing Sarwar's alleged dislike of Connolly other than in the image itself.

Nor does there appear to be any reference to Sarwar attempting to "end the culture of vulgarness" in Scotland as part of his policy platform ahead of the next election.

In the shared screenshot, there are a few telltale signs that it has been mocked up, rather than come from a reputable news source. It is intended to look like an article from a mainstream newspaper, but has no publication name.

The image of Anas Sarwar appears to be slightly too big for the space it is in, and the text below it is extremely close to the bottom of the image. The caption also does not line up with the image itself, or the headline text.

This suggests it has been put together using editing software rather than directly screenshotted from an article. There are also a number of grammatical errors, and unusual wording that is unlikely to come from a mainstream news outlet.

Ferret Fact Service verdict: False

The image shared across social media is not accurate. It is not a real news website page, and has been created using a graphics editing programme. Anas Sarwar has no policy to "end the culture of vulgarness", and has praised Billy Connolly publicly a number of times.

Ferret Fact Service (FFS) is a non-partisan fact checker, and signatory to the International Fact-Checking Network fact-checkers'

code of principles.

All the sources used in our checks are publicly available and the FFS fact-checking methodology

can be viewed here.

Want to suggest a fact check?

Email us at

[email protected] or join our

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A Scottish Government quango spent £175,000 on 'coaching' for its bosses in two years, despite a stretched budget and questions over its performance.

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) spent an average of £7,000 a month on executive coaching between 2022 and 2024, a freedom of information request has shown.

The money was splashed out on sessions delivered by an Edinburgh-based firm called Discovery Coaching Limited.

It is run by Jonathan Frost, a consultant who has authored books on business including 'When Zebras Discover Motorbikes' about how to "influence people, situations and results".

Politicians have branded the spending by the green watchdog "absurd" and said it was a "prime example of the SNP's bloated and wasteful quango culture".

Sepa said its spending on coaching reflects its commitment to "continuous improvement" and had gone through the appropriate tender process.

The money has all been spent since Nicole Paterson took over as Sepa's chief executive in late 2022.

At a time when Scotland is seeing tens of thousands of sewage dumping incidents every year, Nicole Paterson should set out exactly what performance benefits the public are seeing for their £175,000.

Alex Cole Hamilton, Scottish Liberal Democrats

It paid for over 40 members of Sepa's "wider leadership cohort" to take part in "leadership development work", the freedom of information response notes.

Paterson herself is paid over £125,000 a year and is one of five senior staff members on a six-figure salary.

Discovery Coaching lists big businesses among its clients, including Scottish Power and Edinburgh Airport.

Jonathan Frost claims to have worked with "literally hundreds of managers and directors" and coined the term 'thinknosis'- the practice of "guiding people into a state of deeper thought, focus and concentration".

Sepa has faced criticism over its performance including for failing to seek prosecutions of those who have broken environmental rules.

Prosecutions of polluters after reports by the regulator dropped from 18 a year to zero between 2014 and 2023. That's despite the number of complaints about pollution by the public rising over that period.

'Licence to pollute'? Prosecutions of environmental rule-breakers plummet

Sepa has seen its budget shrink by more than a quarter in real terms since 2010, analysis by The Ferret has found.

The leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats, Alex Cole Hamilton, told The Ferret that while public sector organisations need to "invest in skills and training" the amount spent on the coaching looked "absurd".

He added: "Taxpayers will be wondering whether Sepa is letting senior staff pad their CVs or whether it simply hired poorly in the first place.

"At a time when Scotland is seeing tens of thousands of sewage dumping incidents every year, Nicole Paterson should set out exactly what performance benefits the public are seeing for their £175,000."

The Scottish Labour MSP, Monica Lennon, claimed "extravagant spending on senior executives while frontline staff, the public and the environment get left behind has become too common under the SNP".

Lennon added: "Ultimately, Scotland's environment watchdog must stand up to the big polluters wrecking our environment and that can only happen if the SNP's budget is fair and Sepa's leadership spends it wisely."

Scottish Conservatives finance spokesperson, Craig Hoy MSP, claimed the public would be "rightly angry" to be paying for coaching for senior executives.

Hoy said: "This is a prime example of the SNP's bloated and wasteful quango culture."

This is a prime example of the SNP's bloated and wasteful quango culture.

Craig Hoy MSP, Scottish Conservatives

A spokesperson for Sepa noted a programme to "enhance leadership capability and capacity" was agreed as part of its "organisational reset" in 2023 and paid for by "savings" within the leadership team.

They added: "Like other public bodies, investing in leadership coaching reflects our commitment to continuous ...

The man behind a conspiracy theory cited by white supremacists and mass murderers has been booked as a conference speaker by a far right political party led by a Scot.

Renaud Camus - who coined the term "the great replacement" - has top billing at an upcoming Homeland Party conference which will explore the idea of removing "illegal, unintegrated, and unwelcome migrants" from the UK.

The French author first used the term in a 2011 book, arguing it was the "replacement of a people, the indigenous French people, by one or others; of its culture by the loss of its cultural identity through multiculturalism."

Camus' idea of the "great replacement" has since spread beyond France and inspired far right groups who claim Europe's white majority is being replaced with Muslim people of colour in collusion with a left-wing, globalist elite.

Camus is now due to visit Britain next month as a guest of the Homeland Party, a political group active in Scotland that says nationalism should be based on land and the "law of blood" - which means membership of a nation is defined by ancestry rather than political decisions.

Far right group Homeland registers as political party despite objections

Party chair, Kenny Smith, Homeland's de-facto leader, is from the Isle of Lewis and formed Homeland in 2023 after leading a breakaway faction from Patriotic Alternative, another far right group.

Camus' UK trip comes as a report revealed there was a 73 per cent increase in Islamophobic assaults last year in the UK, amid fears the "great replacement" conspiracy theory is spreading.

Critics of the term include anti-racism group Hope not Hate which said it has been "used to justify racism and even terrorism across the globe". The Scottish Greens said the theory has been "pushed by some of the most extreme and racist conspiracy theorists of the fringes" and it is "having a terrible real world impact".

Camus did not reply to a request for a comment but has previously condemned violence. The Homeland Party defended the French author and said he has "consistently promoted peaceful discourse and democratic solutions" and that he "cannot be blamed for the actions of individuals who have cited his work".

In the most extreme cases, the great replacement has been used to justify the murder of non-whites. Converts include the white supremacist who named his manifesto after the theory and killed 51 people during 2019 attacks on New Zealand mosques.

The theory has also been cited by those behind attacks in the US, including the murders of 11 people at a Pennsylvania synagogue in 2018, 23 people at a Texas supermarket in 2019, and 10 people at a New York grocery store in 2022.

While Camus was fined by the French government in 2014 for inciting racial hatred against Muslims and north African immigrants, whom he called "thugs" and "colonisers," he has disavowed terrorism, which he branded as "practices of the occupants".

Whether they are calling themselves Homeland, Patriotic Alternative or anything else for that matter, the vile beliefs they stand for have no place in our politics.

Maggie Chapman MSP, Scottish Greens

Far from being confined to the lexicon of fringe extremists, his theory has been promoted by far right political leaders around the world. They include US president Donald Trump, and the respective Italian and Hungarian prime ministers, Giorgia Meloni and Viktor Orbán. It has also been used by Trump's "special government employee", billionaire Elon Musk.

Closer to home, the great replacement has been embraced by far right groups including the Homeland Party, which opposes "mass immigration" and whose activists delivered leaflets on the issue last month to homes in Glasgow and Inverurie.

The party - which has denounced violence - recently announced its booking of Camus to speak at its "Big Remigration" conference in England in April. The event focuses on its aim to "facilitate and encourage" the return of "illegal, unintegrated, and unwelcome migrants" to thei...

Almost 600 incidents of self-harming were reported at Addiewell - Scotland's only private prison - in less than four years, almost double that of any other Scottish jail.

The number of incidents, revealed in a freedom of information request, were for self-harm by cutting, which is associated with emotional distress and poor mental health and wellbeing.

In total Addiewell recorded 590 incidents from January 2021 until the end of August 2024, an average of 13 every month. Critics said the figures should raise alarm bells and called for action.

The prison, run by outsourcing company Sodexo, has been subject to serious concerns about violence, and high levels of deaths in custody. Last year more prisoners died in Addiewell than at any other prison.

Earlier this week The Ferret revealed that despite paying penalties to the Scottish Prison Service due to failure to meet agreed standards, Addiewell Limited - the company that owns it - has paid more than £3m to shareholders in less than two years.

Private prison profits: Addiewell pays £3m to shareholders amid safety fears and rising deaths

A spokesperson for the prison said it was "subject to the same range of intensive scrutiny as all prisons" and was "building on progress" made to improve the prison's safety and operation record.

Healthcare at the prison is delivered by NHS Lothian. The health board also serves HMP Edinburgh. That prison logged 208 incidents of self-harm by cutting over the time period - the third highest according to the data.

NHS Lothian has been asked to comment. The Scottish Prison Service said it worked hard to keep prisoners safe and supported.

The Scottish Liberal Democrats, who obtained the figures, said Scotland's approach to imprisonment was "failing" and called for action.

Distressed prisoners made 13,000 calls to Samaritans in six months

Justice spokesperson for the party Liam McArthur MSP added: "Huge numbers of people, many with complex problems, are being sent to a place proven to increase their likelihood of reoffending and where incidents of self-harm are on the rise.

"Addiewell prison has been a magnet for such behaviour with regular reports of assaults and self-harm. Prisons can be a pressure cooker but the government has a responsibility to ensure high safety standards are maintained across the entire prison estate."

He claimed a "properly-funded justice system that also includes greater use of robust and effective community sentences", was needed, striking a balance between punishment and rehabilitation "in order to reduce reoffending and make communities safer."

Despite fears being raised about safety at Addiewell prison, its most recent report from the Scottish prison inspectorate commended management for making progress towards improving the jail. However the prison continued to score a red rating - indicating serious concerns - for health and wellbeing.

Highest level of self-harm annually

The self harm figures show that in the first eight months of 2024 there were 110 incidents of self-harm by cutting recorded at Addiewell.

Most other prisons did not give exact figures, but reported having fewer than five incidents (<5) in many of the months of last year. But the next highest appears to be HMP Kilmarnock with a maximum of 55 incidents in 2024. Kilmarnock was formerly run by private company Serco but handed back to the Scottish Prison Service in March.

Figures for 2023 show 203 incidents of cutting at Addiewell, almost 2.5 the next highest number. That year a whistleblower shared reports with The Ferret which suggested mental health and addiction support were often hard to access or had long waiting lists.

The annual number of reported incidents of cutting in 2021 and 2022 were also significantly higher than the numbers recorded at other prisons.

Sarah Armstrong, a Glasgow University professor of criminology who researches deaths in custody, said: "Addiewell saw more people dying in 2024 than in Barlinnie, a prison of much greater size. T...

Over the last year, The Ferret has been investigating the so-called 'culture war'.

We have looked at how disinformation and conspiracies have entered the mainstream debate around issues that have been dragged into the cultural conflict. We have also looked at the real world impacts of online discourse around misogyny.

As part of our investigation, we have highlighted links between organisations across the globe, and examined how populist groups and powerful think-tanks and funders are helping to spread 'culture war' viewpoints in the UK and Scotland.

From the powerful think-tank behind Donald Trump's presidential agenda, and the private university funded by Hungarian populist Viktor Orbán, to events, campaign groups and media organisations pushing agendas in the UK, we have mapped the way these organisations overlap and intersect.

To illustrate some of these connections, we have put together an interactive map highlighting how these groups connect and help to influence each other, and where the key hotspots are in Scotland, the wider UK, Europe and the US.

Tap on the arrows at the top of the map and read the captions to explore some of the global connections in the culture war.

Note: This map works best on a desktop or laptop computer.

Tap the link to view the map in a separate page.

Reform UK's Richard Tice boasted putting solar panels on his company's properties could help tenants with their bills - despite publicly claiming people are being "ripped off" by the renewables industry.

In a speech last week, Tice, Reform's deputy leader, pledged that if it wins the next election the party would impose new taxes on the renewable industry which he called "a massive con".

He said there was a "direct link" between higher electricity prices and the growth of renewable energy generation.

But Tice has been accused of "blatant hypocrisy" because his company has fitted solar panels and electric car charging stations at commercial properties it owns in England.

"These initiatives will save hundreds of tonnes of CO2 every year and help our occupiers with lower electricity bills than they might otherwise have to pay, as well as provide an attractive return for shareholders," Tice wrote in the 2022 annual report for Quidnet REIT, a real estate firm in which he is the largest shareholder.

Critics claimed The Ferret's finding showed Reform's "performative" opposition to renewables was "more about scoring culture war points than genuinely helping British households".

Tice claimed he had "always said unsubsidised solar panels on roofs can make sense for the homeowner or business tenant".

"It cuts out middlemen via the grid," the Boston and Skegness MP told The Ferret. "What does not make sense is gobbling up productive farmland and subsidising renewables as that drives up electricity bills."

This is just another example of the party's performative 'war on net zero', more about scoring culture war points than genuinely helping British households.

Dr Will Stronge, The Autonomy Institute

The solar panels appear to have been lucrative for Quidnet REIT.

The firm makes most of its money from collecting rent, but its 2023 accounts note that it has cashed in on the sale of energy to tenants and the electricity grid.

Income from activities other than rent increased from around £5,000 in 2022 - when the solar panels were being installed - to over £150,000 in 2023.

Tice is not the only Reform politician with interests in renewables.

Great Yarmouth MP, Rupert Lowe, has installed solar panels on his farm. He also owns a company which installs renewable systems and says that "local, carbon-neutral generation of energy is much cheaper than buying gas-powered electricity".

In his speech, Tice said net zero policies were to blame for higher energy bills and the argument that renewables would make energy cheaper was a "lie" because of subsidies paid to the sector.

However a rise in wholesale gas prices was the main cause of the recent energy crisis which sent bills soaring.

It's gas prices that have sent our bills through the roof, not renewables.

Mel Evans, Greenpeace

Energy bills in the UK do include 'green levies' which help pay for projects like renewables and home insulation.

Some experts argue that green levies on bills are regressive because poorer households spend a larger proportion of their income on them, and have suggested moving them to general taxation.

But supporters say scrapping them completely could hamper the rollout of home insulation and renewables projects and leave the UK reliant on foreign gas, which can fluctuate in price.

They argue this could drive bills up further, while critics have claimed Reform's tax plans could cause energy costs to "skyrocket".

Greenpeace described Reform's proposals as a "jumble of misinformation and gaslighting" which would "allow Big Oil bosses to rake in even more billions in profits".

"It's gas prices that have sent our bills through the roof, not renewables," the group's head of climate issues, Mel Evans, said. "Reform's quack cure will only worsen the disease by making us even more reliant on gas and the dictators controlling its price."

Dr Will Stronge of the climate change research organisation, The Autonomy Institute, accused Tice and Reform of "blatant hypocrisy".

Stronge added:...

The company which owns Scotland's private Addiewell prison has paid more than £3m to shareholders in less than two years despite serious concerns over prisoner and staff safety amid high levels of deaths and violence, The Ferret has found.

In total almost £20m has been paid out in dividends to shareholders since the prison opened in 2008. Yet in half of the years it has been open it has failed to meet agreed Scottish Prison Service standards, paying penalties as a result.

In January a murder inquiry was launched after an Addiewell prisoner was allegedly pushed and fell from a jail landing. He later died from his injuries. Last year there were more deaths at Addiewell, in West Lothian, than in any other Scottish prison.

A third of Addiewell Prison Limited's shares are owned by Soxedo Investment Services and 67 per cent are owned by Infrastructure Investment Holdings, an arm of London investment firm, HICL Infrastructure.

According to accounts for 2024, Addiewell Prison Limited paid over £3m in dividends to the two firms from April 2023 to November 2024.

The prison is run by facilities management company Sodexo under a private public finance (PFI) deal made in 2006 by Scotland's then Labour and Liberal Democrat coalition.

When shareholder payouts are prioritised over basic amenities for inmates, it can have tragic results.

Cat Hobbs, We Own It

Critics said "prisons should never be a place for the pursuit of private profit at the expense of vulnerable people" and said "profit-hungry companies" should have contracts for public services ended.

They claimed "serious issues specific to HMP Addiewell" need to be resolved "with some urgency' and there needed to be greater reinvestment in education, counselling and staffing levels to reduce violence and reoffending.

However, Sodexo said it was "subject to the same range of intensive scrutiny as all prisons" and was "building on progress" made to improve the prison's safety and operation record.

In recent years other serious concerns have been raised about the prison. A damning report published in May 2023 found less than a third of inmates said they felt safe. In reports found "credible" by inspectors, one in four claimed to have been assaulted, or abused by staff. Severe shortages of experienced staff was another issue raised.

In 2023 The Ferret reported that violent assaults were higher at Addiewell than at any other prison. A whistleblower claimed a culture of violence, fear and intimidation was rampant within the prison, and claimed that an inspectorate report painted a "rosy picture" compared with the reality.

Violent assaults increasing at Scotland's troubled private prison

They shared details of violent assaults including in public areas and involving homemade weapons, razor blades or scaldings. One email shared, originally sent by the then prison director, suggested the prison may never have been fully staffed at any point since it opened in 2008.

Addiewell's company accounts show that these failings also had a financial cost. Prison bosses had to pay the Scottish Prison Service £2.7m for failing to meet agreed performance indicators in the last financial year. In total Addiewell limited has paid £9m in fines since 2011.

Despite these fines the Scottish Prison Inspectorate has commended prison management for recent improvements. In its 2024 report inspectors said the level of serious concern had reduced dramatically while acknowledging that its journey to "transformation" was "by no means over".

In 2016 a parliamentary question revealed the prison would end up costing Scottish tax payers nearly £1billion over its 25 year contract - more than 12 times what it cost to build.

Addiewell is now Scotland's only private prison. His Majesty's Prison (HMP) Kilmarnock was formerly run by Serco, another outsourcing company, but was transferred back to the Scottish Prison Service on 17 March 2024.

According to financial journalist and author Ian Fraser the private finance initiative - or...