The Ferret headlines

The first minister has faced sustained criticism from the other parties at Holyrood over the Scottish Government's record on education.

During first ministers' questions on February 27, John Swinney was challenged by Scottish Labour's Anas Sarwar about the attainment gap between rich and poor students in Scotland.

Swinney responded by claiming that progress had been made in closing the gap, and cited a reduction in the overall difference in attainment.

The overall poverty-related attainment gap has reduced by 60 per cent since 2009-10 under this government.

John Swinney

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

Evidence

The attainment gap is the difference in the levels of educational achievement between those from the most and least deprived areas. Historically, those from more deprived areas have been less likely to achieve the expected levels of literacy and numeracy, for example, and have a lower chance of ending up in a positive destination after leaving school.

Research has shown that this gap has a significant impact on social mobility. It can have "real consequences for the life chances of those from disadvantaged backgrounds," according to the all-party parliamentary group on social mobility.

The difference in attainment between those from Scotland's most and least deprived areas is measured in various ways by the Scottish Government across different age groups. The Scottish index of multiple deprivation (SIMD) is used to define the most and least deprived areas.

Progress on closing the gap has been central to the SNP Scottish Government's mission, with Swinney calling it his "driving purpose" when he was education secretary in 2016.

Then-first minister Nicola Sturgeon also said in 2016 closing the attainment gap between rich and poor students was "a priority".

In response to Anas Sarwar at first ministers' questions, Swinney claimed: "The overall poverty-related attainment gap has reduced by 60 per cent".

There is no "overall" attainment gap that is published in Scottish Government statistics. There are numerous ways in which the poverty-related gap is measured as young people progress through school and beyond.

Primary school and secondary school pupils are assessed each year on their attainment of the expected levels in reading, writing, literacy, numeracy, listening and talking. This is released in the annual Achievement of Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) statistics.

Prior to 2016-17, literacy and numeracy were measured in alternate years, and are not directly comparable with later statistics.

Primary school

For Primary 1, 4, and 7 combined in 2023-24, the poverty-related attainment gap between the most and least deprived in reading is 17.5 percentage points. This has reduced 1.1 points since 2016-17, when the difference was 18.6 percentage points.

In writing, the attainment gap has reduced 1.3 percentage points since 2016-17 (from 20.7 to 19.4), while in listening and talking it has gone down from 14.5 to 12.2 percentage points, a reduction of 2.3.

The gap in attainment for literacy in 2023-24 is 20.2, 1.9 points lower than it was in 2016-17 (22.1). The poverty-related gap in combined primary school numeracy has reduced marginally from 17.6 to 17.4.

Secondary school

Secondary school pupils are also measured during S3 -when they are 14 or 15 - on their achievement in reading, writing, literacy, numeracy, and listening & talking.

Since 2016-17, there has been a 1.9 percentage point reduction in the attainment gap for reading amongst this age group, a 1.1 point reduction in writing. The gap between the attainment of the richest and the poorest in listening and talking has reduced by 2.3 points in the same time frame.

The attainment gap in literacy for S3s has actually increased since 2016-17, from 30.5 to 30.9. It has been reduced by 1.6 points in numeracy.

School leavers

Attainment is also surveyed for school leavers at whatever age they leave. This is a measure of the poverty-related g...

Senior officials from the UK Space Agency held over 130 meetings with the Ministry of Defence in 2024, prompting renewed concerns about the "weaponisation" of space.

The meetings discussed the spaceport being built at SaxaVord on Shetland, using nuclear reactors in space and collaboration with the US, NATO and arms companies. Two members of the agency's advisory board also work for the Ministry of Defence (MoD).

The subject of one meeting was kept secret because it was about a project that was "highly confidential and not in the public domain". Releasing its title risked "compromising our nation's security", said the agency.

The meetings, revealed in response to a freedom of information request, have been criticised by campaigners. Though Scotland's bid to build spaceports is marketed as scientific research, it is driven by the defence industry, they say.

They warn that space could become a "new frontier of conflict" that would put humanity at risk. They fear that spaceports could be "a trojan horse for the arms industry" and demand transparency.

The Space Agency and the MoD both stressed it was necessary to work together "to protect critical national infrastructure from space-based threats".

SaxaVord, on the northern tip of the most northerly inhabited Shetland isle, Unst, is leading the race to open a spaceport in Scotland. It told MPs in February that it would be ready for its first launch in July.

The Shetland News also reported in February that Scotland's richest man and biggest private landowner, Anders Holch Povlsen, had increased his stake in SaxaVord from 25 per cent to over 50 per cent, making him the majority shareholder.

The Ferret reported in 2021 that Povlsen secretly lobbied the Scottish Government against building another spaceport on the A' Mhoine peninsula in north Sutherland, near one of his estates.

Revealed: how landowner lobbied minister on spaceport

In December 2024 work on the Sutherland spaceport was put on hold, with initial launches planned from SaxaVord instead. There are also spaceports planned for Machrihanish on the Kintyre peninsula, Prestwick in South Ayrshire and North Uist in the Outer Hebrides.

The UK Space Agency was asked to list all meetings by six of its senior staff with the MoD in 2024. The agency responded under freedom of information law with a six-page list taken from calendar records, showing over 130 meetings. Some were attended by more than one agency official.

Nine meetings of the agency's advisory board and its audit and risk assurance committee in 2024 also involved people who work for the MoD. According to the agency's register of interests, two of its non-executive board members, Kevin Shaw and Peter Watkins, are paid advisors for the MoD.

Most of the 130 meetings were given a title, summarising their purpose. On 15 January 2024 the Space Agency's chief executive, Dr Paul Bate, met the MoD for a "discussion on SaxaVord and next steps for His Majesty's Government".

Earlier the same month, agency director, Matt Archer, discussed SaxaVord with the government's National Security Strategic Investment Fund, which invests in defence. On 27 March 2024 Archer met the MoD with Orbex, the Scottish space company that switched its planned launches from Sutherland to SaxaVord.

Archer attended four meetings in 2024 with the MoD to discuss NATO space plans. Along with the MoD, he also met with the US Space Force and at the US Embassy.

Chief executive Bate met four times with Major General Paul Tedman, for "catch-ups", lunch and a discussion on the MoD's strategic defence review. Tedman was appointed as the UK's military space commander in May 2024, having previously been a deputy director at US Space Command.

The Space Agency's two deputy chief executives, Annelies Look and Chris White-Horne, also had lunch with Tedman on 22 October 2024. In addition, Look and Bate had meetings with the MoD about the use of nuclear power in space, and White-Horne discussed "space defence civil alignment"...

The head of Edinburgh university has been accused of 'greed' for taking a second job just months before he announced staff cuts.

University of Edinburgh principal and vice-chancellor Sir Peter Mathieson joined the board of Roslin Cell Therapies (CT) in June last year.

The role at the biotech firm could potentially earn him tens of thousands on top of his existing pay, which is worth over £400,000 and was recently increased by five per cent.

Last month, Mathieson warned staff about plans to cut £140m from the university's annual budget, which would result in a "smaller staff base". He said the move was necessary due to a "financial gap" at the university.

But the University and College Union (UCU) has accused management of "manufacturing a crisis" to justify cuts, pointing out that Edinburgh has recorded surpluses in recent years and has assets worth billions.

Staff and the union have reacted angrily to Mathieson's new role, with one lecturer calling it "a slap in the face" for those worried about their future. They questioned how he had time to take on a second job and argued he should be focused on "solving the problems at the university".

The university said any work undertaken in the role would be carried out in Mathieson's "personal time" and insisted that cuts were needed so Edinburgh could maintain its position as a "world-leading" institution.

Roslin Institute

Roslin CT was established in 2006 as a commercial spin-out of the renowned Roslin Institute within Edinburgh university, known for its involvement in the cloning of Dolly the Sheep.

The company now manufactures medical products including a ground-breaking treatment for sickle cell disease.

The university was a major shareholder in Roslin CT until it was sold to a private equity firm in December 2021 - a deal that netted Edinburgh £38m. In June 2024 - two and a half years after the sale - Mathieson joined its board as a non-executive director.

His earnings from Roslin CT have not been disclosed, but the company's latest accounts show its six directors received a combined £350,000 in 2023. This means that each director potentially made tens of thousands of pounds.

Four directors also held share options, a benefit which allows them to buy shares in the company at a fixed or discounted price.

The idea that Peter Mathieson would be paid this amount of money and still have the time to have a part-time job is shocking to me.

Lecturer, University of Edinburgh

The university did not disclose how much Mathieson would be paid for his role at Roslin CT, despite being asked directly by The Ferret.

A spokesperson for the University of Edinburgh said: "Our arms-length commercialisation service Edinburgh Innovations managed the transaction (the sale of Roslin CT) on behalf of the university.

"Peter's role will support Roslin CT's significant endeavour to bring life-saving therapies to patients worldwide, and any work undertaken as part of this will be carried out in his personal time."

Financial dispute

In an email to all staff on 25 February - following three previous emails dating back to July 2024 - Mathieson said the university sector was in "severe financial difficulty".

He blamed factors including national insurance rises, "longstanding" underfunding of Scottish undergraduates, and policy changes that have made the UK less attractive to international students.

Tuition fees from overseas students are a major source of money for universities. Edinburgh brought in £363m in fees paid by non-EU students in 2023-24, about 27 per cent of its total income and a slight increase from the previous year.

Over recent decades, Edinburgh had been able to attract large numbers of international students which meant it could "grow itself out of financial challenge", Mathieson wrote. But management was now forecasting an "operational deficit in forthcoming years".

He argued the university faced a "financial gap" which required a "recurring and sustainable" reduction to its costs in "the or...

A study to determine the impacts of pheasants and red-legged partridges on Scotland's environment and native species is set to commence this year.

The Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT) aims to examine the effects caused by releasing millions of non-native gamebirds each year in rural Scotland to be shot for sport.

A pilot assessment is due to take place this spring in the Cairngorms National Park.

NatureScot recommended research into the impacts of gamebirds in 2023, according to internal communications we obtained via freedom of information.

RSPB Scotland has previously urged the wildlife agency to take action around the release of gamebirds in or around protected areas containing capercaillie, an endangered native bird.

In internal emails, NatureScot highlighted that most existing impact studies have been done in England, where, unlike in Scotland, authorities can regulate the release of gamebirds.

RSPB told The Ferret that such powers are "significantly weaker in Scotland than in other UK countries".

Millions of gamebirds imported during record bird flu outbreak

An initial assessment from NatureScot found it "possible" or "likely" that gamebirds were present in dozens of special protected areas (SPAs) after having been released nearby.

These protected areas contain habitats of native breeding birds including capercaillie, oystercatcher, golden eagle, hen harrier and osprey, but the majority do not require land managers to gain consent in order to release animals.

In England, a licence is required to release gamebirds within 500-metre 'buffer zones' surrounding SPAs and special areas of conservation. The UK Government says it is better to "avoid releasing gamebirds wherever possible" from within any protected site.

Asked about the upcoming impact study, RSPB said it was "important that we build understanding of both the numbers and of environmental impacts on wildlife habitats at release sites".

Rare capercaillie under threat from gamebirds

Paul Walton, RSPB Scotland's head of habitats and species, warned of potential impacts on native animal species, including the potential to pass on disease - particularly bird flu - and the risk of gamebirds attracting more predators, which could also prey on other species.

"RSPB Scotland believes ministers should have the power to regulate releases of gamebirds where environmental harm or disease transfer is occurring or is likely to occur," he added.

"Such powers are currently significantly weaker in Scotland than in other UK countries."

A NatureScot spokesperson said: "Currently, there is little evidence to show that gamebirds are causing damage to protected areas in Scotland, but we will continue to monitor the situation closely."

They claimed discussions about the research had taken place with partner organisations.

A GWCT spokesperson said: "The pilot project to begin looking at the numbers of gamebirds released within the Cairngorms National Park has not yet taken place, but is due to start this spring once the plan for it has been finalised."

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: Agustín Povedano/Flickr

Giant supertrawlers routinely fish in Scotland's marine protected areas, damaging precious marine life and fish populations, despite the UK Government having had the powers to stop them since Brexit.

An investigation by Greenpeace has found that the waters most heavily fished by foreign supertrawlers in the last five years were off the coast of Scotland and included seas around Shetland and the Hebrides.

Supertrawlers are massive industrial freezer trawlers measuring more than 100 metres in length. Using enormous nets, they catch hundreds of tonnes of pelagic fish like herring and blue whiting in a single day.

But supertrawlers also damage rare habitats and unintentionally catch large quantities of species including dolphins and porpoises as well as sharks, seals and rays.

Greenpeace has accused the UK Government of "failing our protected seas" while calling for a ban on "supertrawlers, and other types of industrial fishing" from marine protected areas.

The UK Government said it was "carefully considering the next steps for protecting our marine protected areas". The Scottish Government said herring and blue whiting are not protected features in MPAs.

Greenpeace investigators found that from January 2020 to January this year, 26 supertrawlers spent significant time fishing in 44 of the UK's MPAs.

All the supertrawlers were operating legally despite the UK Government having had the power to ban them from operating in British waters since leaving the EU, Greenpeace said.

The Scottish marine protected areas fished by the supertrawlers were: Wyville Thomson Ridge, West of Scotland, Central Fladen, Geikie Slide and Hebridean Slope and Faroe-Shetland Sponge Belt.

Pobie Bank Reef, West Shetland Shelf, Seas off Foula, The Barra Fan and Hebrides Terrace Seamount were also fished by supertrawlers.

These MPAs were set up to protect precious features like seamounts created by extinct volcanoes, stony reefs and soft corals. They also support important species including crustaceans, deep-sea sponges, great skuas, fulmars, gulls and puffins.

The five supertrawlers Greenpeace investigators identified as having spent the most time fishing in UK waters between 2020 and 2025 were Willem van der Zwan (flagged to Netherlands), Margiris (Lithuania), Helen Mary (Germany), Sch 81 Carolien (Netherlands) and Afrika (Netherlands).

The Margiris (143 metres) and Willem van der Zwan (142.5 metres) are two of the biggest supertrawlers on Earth.

Greenpeace pointed out these vessels land the vast majority of their catch abroad and claimed that the "hoovering up of fish gives little economic benefit to the UK".

Erica Finnie, oceans campaigner at Greenpeace UK, said marine protected areas should be "places for fish, marine biodiversity and habitats to rest and recover from the damage caused by human activities". She added: "But the government is making a mockery of our MPAs by allowing these places to be routinely fished - despite having had the powers to ban industrial fishing vessels from protected waters since we left the EU.

"By allowing industrial fishing to continue in our protected areas, the government is degrading entire MPAs from the north of Scotland to the south of Cornwall."

The government is making a mockery of our MPAs by allowing these places to be routinely fished - despite having had the powers to ban industrial fishing vessels from protected waters since we left the EU.

Erica Finnie, oceans campaigner at Greenpeace UK.

A UK government spokesperson said it is committed to banning "destructive bottom trawling" where it is damaging our protected seabed habitats.

They added: "Most marine protected areas are designated to protect seabed habitats, such as reef and sediment habitats, which these large trawlers operating in the open waters are unlikely to damage.

A Scottish Government spokesperson said MPAs are managed "according to the needs of their protected features and their conservation objectives", and that its MPA network "mainly focuses" ...

Scots-based trainers racing greyhounds in England are transporting dogs "illegally" and councils are failing to ensure they comply with animal welfare regulations, it has been claimed.

An investigation by animal welfare activists has found trainers are driving caged greyhounds, without the correct licences, on round trips of up to ten hours to places as far afield as Wolverhampton, in the West Midlands.

Critics argue that dogs are often seen as disposable commodities, moved around the country in cages for racing, and then "dumped on re-homing charities" when they are no longer able to race anymore.

Licenses for transporting animals are issued by the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA), a UK Government body. Local authorities are tasked with ensuring animal transport complies with the regulations.

There are 27 breeders and trainers in Scotland registered with the Greyhound Board of Great Britain. They keep their greyhounds in kennels in Scotland and race them at tracks elsewhere in the UK.

APHA says a "type 2" licence is required when a journey for a greyhound exceeds eight hours, and there should be a 48-hour break until the next journey. Most Scots trainers have a "type 1" which is required for shorter journeys of up to eight hours.

But activists said most round trips to England for racing take longer than eight hours, and trainers must take into account the time greyhounds spend at a track, to comply with the law.

More than 300 racing greyhounds died last year

They also accused local authorities of being "completely clueless about the rules" and claimed this "lack of knowledge" is "deeply concerning", pointing out councils are tasked with ensuring compliance for all animal transports in Scotland.

The Scottish Greens MSP Mark Ruskell - whose bill to ban greyhound racing in Scotland will be voted on next month by MSPs in the Scottish Parliament - said welfare regulations should be able to protect greyhounds from harm if they are properly enforced, adding that "in the case of transportation they are clearly not."

The Greyhound Board of Great Britain - which says it has invested over £13.5m since 2015 to improve the safety and welfare of racing greyhounds - was asked to comment but did not respond.

Local authorities told The Ferret they were investigating complaints. One council said resource issues means it can only investigate cases when "we become aware of potential issues".

The activists' investigation follows a decision last month by the Welsh Government to prohibit greyhound racing.

The activists - who requested anonymity - conducted a four-month investigation, focusing on trainers who travel to places such as Newcastle Greyhound Stadium, and Monmore Green Stadium, Wolverhampton.

A round trip from Edinburgh to Wolverhampton would involve at least 10 hours travelling for greyhounds, as well as the time involved at the race track. The correct APHA licence would be type 2 which covers journeys over eight hours, the activists said.

But nearly all Scots trainers have a type 1 licence so unless a trainer stayed in Wolverhampton for 48 hours before returning to Scotland with their greyhound/s, they would be breaking the law, said the activists.

One Scots trainer recently posted on social media to reveal he had travelled to Monmore Green Stadium "on a 10-hour round trip" with three dogs.

The activists raised the licence issue with 11 local authorities and said they "discovered a staggering lack of knowledge" regarding animal transport law. "Despite local authorities also having the power to advise against travel, they have allowed Scottish greyhound trainers to remain on the roads illegally over a number of months since we brought it to their attention," one activist told The Ferret.

They added: "After much protracted discussion with APHA and the relevant local authorities, only one has now taken out a type 2 license. I appreciate that it's not a subject which any of them seem to have come across before, however the informati...

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.

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