Hi ,

First minister John Swinney has this week been forced to deny the Scottish Government is going to ban cats after reports it was considering the move.

While that will be reassuring news for felines, it will be welcomed less by lovers of puns who have seen endless potential in the story. 

ABC News claimed Scotland was "facing a flap over cats" while the Telegraph urged readers to "hold on to your cats" and the Spectator said the story "put the cat among the pigeons". 

Even ScotRail got in on the act, pointing out that moggies were still allowed on its trains and tweeting a picture of a cat with the caption "next stop for this one PAWlockshields East".

At The Ferret we hold ourselves to higher standards than juvenile humour about furry animals. 

But while we are on the topic, we thought this might be a good chance to promote some of our hard hitting investigations on the merits of eating beavers...

You can find those and a host of other cat-egories of stories at theferret.scot.

Yours,

Paul

Story of the week

An in-depth look at a Ferret investigation

Young people leaving care are still being left homeless and at risk, in unsuitable hostels surrounded by drugs, or too afraid to sleep at night despite a Scottish Government “promise” to ensure they are given a safe and loving home for as long as needed, The Ferret has heard.

The failures are being highlighted by a new report – due to be released this week – which calls for urgent action to be taken to prevent homelessness for care leavers.

The “progress report”, which The Ferret was given exclusive sight of, marks the fifth anniversary of then-first minister Nicola Sturgeon’s flagship care review – known as ‘The Promise’.

What did we dig up this week?

A round up of our investigations in the last seven days

Scottish Government wanted to be ‘on same page’ as Westminster over Israeli meeting

Ministers have been criticised for working “in-step with the Foreign Office” over a controversial meeting with an Israeli official.

‘We can’t wait five years’: Neglected ‘banana flats’ residents say council breaching their rights

Residents of Leith’s famous “banana flats” claim Edinburgh City Council is breaching their human rights after persistent issues.

Question of the week

Should Angus Robertson have met with Israel’s deputy ambassador during the Gaza war

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Best of the rest

Investigations we've enjoyed from around the world

Italian investigative journalist targeted on WhatsApp by Israeli spyware

Francesco Cancellato, whose reporting exposes fascists within PM Meloni’s far-right party, condemns ‘violation’. (Guardian)

Trump’s data deletions pose a stark threat to public health

In just the first few weeks of his second presidency, Donald Trump has taken an axe to the US government’s stockpiles of health data. (Bureau)

The search for Ukraine's missing - 'no one could have foreseen this nightmare'

Ukraine has listed more than 61,000 people as missing since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022, both soldiers and civilians. (BBC News)

Any comments? Have you seen something we could include? Email us at contact@theferret.scot.

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