Environment, Fracking, Human rights
Fracking campaigners are ‘domestic extremists’, say Police Scotland
Official documents reveal that Police Scotland has been trying to infiltrate communities near the Ineos petrochemical plant at Grangemouth.
Crime and justice, Human rights, Privacy and surveillance
Police Scotland under pressure after landmark ruling on unlawful spying
A landmark ruling by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) this week said that GCHQ’s methods in carrying out bulk interception of online communications, violated privacy and failed to provide sufficient surveillance safeguards
Health
Scottish Government treated autistic people ‘appallingly’
Scottish Government attempts to draw up policies on autism have treated autistic people "appallingly" and suffer from "well-intentioned ignorance” and “prejudice”, The Ferret has been told.
Fact check, Politics
Claim 8,000 armed forces personnel will be affected by Scottish tax changes is Mostly True
Ferret Fact Service looks at the number of army personnel affected by the change in Scottish income tax.
Asylum, Human rights, International
The volunteers facing jail for rescuing migrants in the Mediterranean
The risk of refugees and migrants drowning in the Mediterranean is increasing, but lifesaving volunteers are being criminalised.
Human rights, International
Scots pension funds linked to Yemen bus atrocity
Scots council pension funds have shares worth £110 million in US arms giants linked to an alleged war crime in Yemen when 40 children were killed.
Environment
SSPCA under fire over lice-infested salmon filmed at fish farm
The Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is facing criticism after it decided not to punish a fish farming company caught on film with lice-infested salmon.
Environment
Alarm over toxic pesticide sprayed on Scotland’s woodlands
Scotland’s forests are treated and sprayed every year with hundreds of kilograms of a toxic pesticide blamed for killing bees and butterflies, The Ferret can reveal.
Environment
Fergus Ewing should stop Michael Russell on pesticides, says leaked email
The rural minister, Fergus Ewing, should get his cabinet colleague, Michael Russell, to “draw in his horns” and stop trying to ban toxic pesticides, according to a leaked email.