Hi ,

This week, classified US plans for an attack on Houthi rebels in Yemen were discussed in a messenger app group, while an inadvertently-included journalist watched on. 

'Signalgate' - named after the messenger app where this discussion took place - has rumbled on in recent days, after The Atlantic published the details of its journalist's remarkable scoop. 

Despite admitting the messages were real and the group contained senior government figures including vice-president JD Vance and secretary of defence Pete Hegseth, the White House called the story a 'hoax'... 

What's very real is our event, taking place on Saturday 5 April, examining how Trump's America could impact us all. 

Join us at the Assembly Roxy in Edinburgh for 'Trump 2.0: What Does It Mean for Scotland?', alongside The Ferret's AGM. 

Tickets are available here.

Yours,

Ali

Story of the week

An in-depth look at a Ferret investigation

A grieving family is planning to sue Addiewell – Scotland’s only private prison – for negligence after their beloved son and brother died alone in his cell at just 22 years old while waiting for mental health support.

Jordan Burns made multiple suicide attempts in the ten months he spent on remand in Addiewell facing charges of assault. 

While inside, Jordan’s attempts on his own life included trying to jump from a landing and setting fire to his cell. He had several drug overdoses and had to be resuscitated twice. 

In one harrowing incident just weeks before his death he took a razor blade to his throat and called his then-solicitor, threatening to kill himself. He told the lawyer he had been waiting for mental health support for months. 

What did we dig up this week?

A round up of our investigations in the last seven days

Salmon farms file 210 appeals to ‘sabotage’ lice controls

The appeals are the latest move in the salmon industry’s long-running campaign to block lice controls being introduced by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency.

Israeli firm faced enforcement action over peat extraction in Scotland

An Israeli company linked to a major Conservative Party donor faced enforcement action over its peat extraction operations in Scotland, The Ferret can reveal.

MoD under fire over nuclear clean-up

The Ministry of Defence has been accused of trying to avoid responsibility for cleaning up a military nuclear site on the north coast of Scotland.

Question of the week

Is the fish farming industry good for Scotland?

We now have a platform exclusive for Ferret Underground subscribers where you can share ideas about future investigations, answer polls and more!

Create an account here to get access.

Best of the rest

Investigations we've enjoyed from around the world

Here are the attack plans that Trump’s advisers shared on Signal

The administration has downplayed the importance of the text messages inadvertently sent to The Atlantic’s editor in chief. (Atlantic)

‘I know what it is to go down the rabbit hole’: the male coaches pulling young men back from the edge

A growing number of life coaches are focusing on men’s mental health, addressing the emotional pain that can tip many into the so-called manosphere. (Guardian)

Revealed: Starmer AI advisor has financial interests in almost 500 tech firms

While the government boasts about its ambitions, it has been less forthcoming about the business interests of the architect of its AI policy: Matt Clifford. (Democracy for Sale)

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

Copyright © The Ferret Media Ltd, All rights reserved.