Environment
Bid to control hill tracks scarring the highlands
A move to impose tougher controls on landowners scarring hillsides by bulldozing tracks for deer stalking and grouse shooting has been launched in the Scottish Parliament.
Politics
Revealed: Boris Johnson’s Afghan trip cost taxpayers £20,000
Boris Johnson’s widely criticised trip to Afghanistan when a crucial vote was due on a third runway at Heathrow cost the British taxpayer at least £20,000, The Ferret can reveal.
Asylum, Housing and homelessness, Human rights
Charities claim refugees facing eviction due to Home Office errors
Dozens of refugees facing lock changes in Glasgow may be entitled to Home Office accommodation and should not be evicted, it is claimed.
Environment
Highland hare population has dropped dramatically, says study
The number of mountain hares in the eastern Highlands has dropped by more than 99 per cent since 1954, according to a new study - prompting calls for urgent action to protect the species.
Environment
Golf plan attacked as ‘stalking horse’ to wreck wildlife sites in Scotland
Plans to build a golf course on one of Scotland’s most precious coastal wildlife sites would be blocked in England, say environmental groups.
Asylum, Human rights
Tory minister rejects MSP request to visit Dungavel detention centre
A Scottish politician's request for an official visit to Dungavel House Immigration Removal Centre in South Lanarkshire has been rejected by the Home Office.
Fact check, Politics
Claim that fire service paying VAT was ‘SNP policy’ is Mostly False
Ferret Fact Service looks at the facts around the VAT exemption for the merged Scottish fire service.
Environment
Scottish salmon farming expansion must be stopped, say critics
Expansion of Scotland’s salmon farming industry should be banned until welfare standards are improved, according to a new report from a leading Scottish animal charity.
Environment
Named: supermarkets selling salmon from ‘poor’ welfare firms
Supermarkets are selling farmed salmon from companies accused of poor animal welfare, The Ferret can reveal.