Ferret Underground: Liz Truss, trans healthcare, council data breaches

Hi ,

A new week, and a new prime minister.

After a tumultuous six weeks, Liz Truss is gone and Rishi Sunak is in charge (as I write this...).

Truss' heavily abridged time in the top job was the catalyst for our viral fact check last week, which looked at whether she will be entitled to a yearly allowance of £115,000 after leaving as prime minister. Check our fact check below for all the information on this controversial and previously little-known fund.

Here at The Ferret we have also to express our heartfelt thanks to everyone who supported our community hub crowdfunder with Greater Govanhill magazine. Thanks to your cash, we raised more than £3,000 to help us kit out the new community office and events space.

Stay tuned for the launch of our collaboration with Greater Govanhill soon!

The number of trans people in Scotland crowdfunding to cover medical costs has increased by 65 per cent since last year due to excessive waiting times, gaps in provision and what fundraisers characterise as “institutional transphobia” within the NHS.

Scottish Trans Alliance said the data, shared exclusively with The Ferret by crowdfunding platform GoFundMe.com, was “unfortunately unsurprising” and that private healthcare remained the only option for many trans people in Scotland.

More than 10,000 data breaches by Scottish local authorities
Incidents included the unauthorised access of data by staff, stolen data, procedural failures, theft of hardware, and personal data put on websites.

Claim Liz Truss will have £115,000 allowance as ex-prime minister is True
Truss’ resignation led to claims online about the amount of money she would be due after leaving the prime ministerial role.

Peat multinational allegedly breached planning permission
A multinational which extracts peat from a site in Dumfries and Galloway has been doing so “in breach of…planning permission,” local authority documents alleged.

Row between Marine Scotland and firm over seal scarers
The dispute arose after Marine Scotland reported that The Scottish Salmon Company had received an enforcement notice.

Deepfaked: ‘They put my face on a porn video’
Scrolling through her Twitter feed one evening, Kate Isaacs stumbled across a disturbing video among her notifications. (BBC News)

The remote control killers behind Russia’s cruise missile strikes on Ukraine
On 10 October, Russia pummelled Ukraine’s cities with missiles killing at least 20 people, according to Ukraine’s national emergency service. (Bellingcat)

‘I’m not very well and I need heat’: at the warm bank in Wolverhampton
A big poster outside the Bob Jones Community Hub proclaims “I’m a warm space” and offers people a place to keep warm for as long as they like. (Guardian)