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Hi ,
This July, The Ferret turned ten.
A decade ago, a handful of journalists gathered around a kitchen table with pizza, optimism, and a shared belief that independent, fearless journalism matters – and that it’s vital to hold power to account, to dig where others don’t, and to stay transparent and answerable to the people we serve.
Since then, we’ve published over 2,600 stories, established Scotland’s first community newsroom, launched the country’s first accredited fact-checking service, while holding governments, corporations and the powerful to account. Our reporting has helped shape public understanding, influence policy-making, and spotlight underreported issues.
But journalism in 2025 looks very different from 2015. With more noise, misinformation and declining trust, the next decade demands more than uncovering stories — it calls for helping people make sense of them.
So as we mark this milestone, we’re also looking ahead. We will continue to investigate but want to offer deeper engagement, while staying rooted in public interest journalism. And we want to keep working with you, our readers and members, to decide where we dig next.
Below, you’ll find highlights from the past month and the impact our reporting is having. Thank you for staying with us this far. Here’s to the next ten years. |
Our reporting made headlines 📰 |
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Our recent long-read on Angus Robertson’s meeting with Israeli diplomat Daniela Grudsky made the front page of the Sunday National, leading to calls from Patrick Harvie for Robertson to explain the events. The story was also picked up by The Herald. |
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Across social media, our investigation reached more than 160,000 people. You can read the full story here.
Other investigations are also gaining traction. Our report on councils selling off 1,850 public buildings was mentioned in The Glasgow Bell, and UK podcast The News Agents showed LBC’s crime correspondent referencing our exposé of Homeland figure James Munro making a Nazi salute during a segment on far-right activity. |
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Contributing to research and public understanding 🧠
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As well as being picked up by other media, our far-right reporting is being used by researchers and writers exploring extremism and its wider effects.
A recent New World article (formerly The New European) cited our investigation into the experiences of women in the far-right group Patriotic Alternative, highlighting internal accounts of misogyny and psychological distress.
Meanwhile, our wider body of work on the far right has been cited in multiple academic publications, including four journal articles and a book. These include:
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Shedding light on nuclear oversight ⚛️ |
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After a six-year battle for transparency, Ferret co-founder and journalist Rob Edwards has won a major freedom of information case.
In 2019, he requested documents from the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) relating to environmental issues at the Faslane and Coulport bases. His request was delayed due to a cyber attack and later blocked on the grounds of “national security”. Subsequent attempts in 2023 and 2024 were also refused or only partially answered.
But after Rob submitted a further request in 2024 — this time for correspondence between Sepa and the Ministry of Defence — it revealed that the MoD had directly intervened to block the release of information. |
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Following an appeal to the Scottish Information Commissioner, Sepa has now been ordered to release the material. The commissioner found that keeping it secret was unjustified, and said doing so served to protect “reputations”, not national security.
Sepa has until August 4 to comply or lodge an appeal. We’ll be following closely and will keep you posted. |
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Stronger checks on firms after our reporting 🛠️ |
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Human rights checks on companies applying for Scottish Government grants are set to be strengthened, following a series of Ferret investigations.
We previously revealed that since January 2022, arms companies linked to Israel had received at least £2.7 million in public funding via Scottish Enterprise. In 2023, we also reported that while hundreds of human rights due diligence checks had been carried out on firms applying for grants, none had failed, even when companies had connections to states accused of serious human rights violations, including Israel and Saudi Arabia.
Following these reports, the Scottish Government has committed to tightening its approach. We'll continue to monitor how those changes are implemented. |
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What’s next?
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We’ll keep investigating where others won’t — from the far right to environmental policy, from lobbying to public land and property. And as always, we’re in it for the long haul.
Your support — whether as a member, a donor, or a reader — makes this work possible. If you want to help us keep digging, you can join The Ferret for just £5 a month, make a one-off donation, or forward this newsletter to a friend who might be interested.
Thank you.
Yours,
The Ferret team
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