The Glasgow-based Oceanic Group is known for holding glitzy ceremonies across the UK, Ireland and the United States, but multiple former staff allege its ‘rogue’ boss failed to pay them the wages they were due.
Macaques are monkeys known for their intelligence. Large numbers have been shipped more than 6,000 miles to Scotland for experiments.
A new report claims Asos, part owned by Scotland’s richest man, is still harming the environment and not adequately supporting its workers. Asos says it is committed to addressing concerns about the fashion industry.
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”.
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.”
Main image: Aermacchi M346. Credit: Ronnie Macdonald/Wikimedia
Prospective MSPs are legally required to evidence their election spending and confirm the records are correct. Following an investigation by The Ferret, Police Scotland is examining whether nine Reform UK candidates failed to do so.
The university has continued to argue staff cuts are needed to make ends meet. But a growing cash balance has raised questions about the need for more redundancies, and whether it qualifies for millions in public support.
This summer we revealed that convicted loyalists from Belfast travelled to Glasgow for a far right protest. Further digging has unearthed a rapidly expanding anti-immigration network between Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Loyalist paramilitary groups in Northern Ireland murdered hundreds of people during The Troubles. But far right activists flew their flag at an anti-immigration rally despite terror laws banning public support for terrorists.
