Scottish drug users must be given better access to treatment to prevent drug related deaths according to a new study, which also claims consumption rooms and safer supply initiatives are needed to save lives. Published in the Lancet, the research, led by Glasgow Caledonian University, found death rates for those not in drug treatment – including opioid replacements like methadone and buprenorphine –were three and a half times higher than for those who were. But the study, which involved about 50,000 people, also found that death rates in those in treatment have increased over the last decade ..read more

One of the most enduring claims relating to the European Union has reared its head again in the media. An infamous Brussels regulation allegedly banning “bendy bananas” avoided being scrapped in the ‘Brexit bonfire’. Ferret Fact Service took a look at perhaps the most repeated claim about the EU. Why is it back in the news? The UK Government had planned to discard thousands of pieces of EU legislation in the Retained EU Law bill, with regulations which were kept in UK law to ease the Brexit transition to be automatically phased out by the end of 2023. However, the so-called ‘Brexit bonfire’ wa ..read more

Coffee giant Costa wanted to help write Scottish Government guidelines on the future of drive-through restaurants, sparking concerns about lobbyists’ efforts to weaken new planning rules. Scotland’s new national planning framework, called NPF4, includes tough restrictions on the building of new drive-throughs, which will only go ahead in areas where they are explicitly backed by local councils. The new rules are aimed at reducing climate emissions from car use and tackling climate change. Freedom of information (FoI) responses received by The Ferret have shown that Costa was unhappy with the n ..read more

On this week’s podcast, we take a look at social media platform Twitter, and the impact of Elon Musk’s controversial takeover. Ali and Paul talk to Vice disinformation reporter David Gilbert about how Musk’s stewardship has resulted in increasing far-right and anti-semitic presence on the platform, where Twitter’s content moderation has failed, and whether Musk himself enables the far-right and conspiracy theories in his tweets. Elsewhere on For Fact’s Sake, we look into the controversy around highly protected marine areas (HPMAs), and assess some inaccurate reporting of Sadiq Khan’s recently ..read more

The white nationalist group, Homeland, deemed Britain’s “most dangerous” UK far right organisation by anti-fascists, has applied to become a political party. The group has made an application to the Electoral Commission under the name Homeland Party, which is currently under review. The commission said it could not comment on ongoing applications but would “assess whether the party’s constitution and membership policy would breach equalities law”. An anti-hate charity said Homeland’s registration bid was an attempt to create a “veneer of legitimacy”. We reported how Kenny Smith, a former Briti ..read more

Fourteen-year-old Opeyemi Adedeji was one of countless boys in the Nigerian capital, Lagos, who teased female classmates about their periods, in a country where more than 37m women and girls are unable to afford menstrual hygiene products. In Nigeria – as is the case in many countries across the world – period poverty, and girls’ subsequent fear of being ridiculed and shamed by peers like Opeyemi and others if they stained their school uniform with menstrual blood, drives many young women to miss school everyday. This has encouraged several organisations, such as the Sanitary Aid Initiative an ..read more

Violent assaults have been rising more steeply at HMP Addiewell – Scotland’s troubled private prison – than any other jail last year, according to a Ferret investigation. There were a total of 166 assaults by prisoners last year. These included attacks by razor blades and scalding and some resulted in people being hospitalised. The majority of the assaults were on other prisoners but 44 were on staff. In 2022 more “serious assaults” were recorded at Addiewell than at any other Scottish prison. Yet the Ferret also heard claims that incidents were dramatically under-reported due to fears of repr ..read more

A Scottish Government plan to put new protections in place for areas of Scotland’s seas has led to controversy in fishing communities. Highly protected marine areas, or HPMAs, will be designated in 2026, and put strict limits on what can and cannot be done to areas of seas considered to need the highest protection. Ferret Fact Service looked into the new law and why there is so much disagreement. What are HPMAs? Highly protected marine areas are parts of Scotland’s seas that will be given special status and protection to allow their marine ecosystems to recover and thrive. The Scottish Governm ..read more

Proposed safety limits for a toxic pesticide widely used on salmon farms have been made 23 times weaker after sustained behind-the-scenes pressure from the industry, The Ferret can reveal. Permitted concentrations of the lice-killing chemical, emamectin, in the sediment of sea lochs have increased from 12 to 272 nanograms per kilogram between 2017 and 2023. The increase followed a series of interventions from salmon farming companies, based on private research. Campaigners said this was a “shocking” example of how regulators bowed to industry pressure, and warned that marine wildlife would suf ..read more

A French drinks company – which owns 14 whisky distilleries in Scotland – has cancelled a plan to resume exporting spirits to Russia. Pernod Ricard — headquartered in Paris — is the ultimate owner of famous malts such as The Glenlivet, Aberlour, Strathisla and Glentauchers. The distilleries are run by its subsidiary, Chivas Brothers, which is headquartered in Paisley. Pernod Ricard is the world’s second-largest wine and spirits seller. It stopped exporting to Russia after Ukraine was attacked, but recently announced that exports of Beefeater gin and Absolut vodka would resume, prompting critic ..read more