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Hi ,
It’s been another rollercoaster of a week on the international stage, with US president Donald Trump taking centre stage, as he does most days. After Israel started bombing Iran – with the latter firing rockets in response – the question was would the US be drawn into an intractable Middle East conflict, or opt for non-intervention – a policy Trump advocated during his successful election campaign.
Reverse-ferreting on his anti-war promises, Trump chose bombs and US airstrikes targeted Iran. The US president claimed Tehran's nuclear programme had been “completely and totally obliterated”. That claim was later questioned when a leaked Pentagon report said the damage would only delay Iran’s plan by several months. But then the CIA backed Trump and said the strikes caused severe damage.
Someone is telling porkies… Anyway, at the time of writing, a ceasefire is holding between Iran and Israel but the world watches with baited breath. One thing is for certain though: Mr Trump will be centre stage once again next week.
Strap in for more rollercoasters and please keep supporting The Ferret in these uncertain times – because facts matter and we’re committed to uncovering as many of them as possible.
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Yours,
Billy and Jamie |
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Story of the week |
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An in-depth look at a Ferret investigation |
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Arms firms supplying Israel have continued to receive taxpayers’ money from the Scottish Government despite allegations of genocide in Gaza, prompting criticism its human rights due diligence is “not fit for purpose”.
In correspondence to Scottish Enterprise, seen by The Ferret, Amnesty International said it was “astonishing” that companies supplying Israel had still received funding from the Scottish Government’s investment agency amidst claims of war crimes.
Amnesty International accused Israel of committing genocide in a report last December. It wrote to Scottish Enterprise, the Scottish Government’s business agency, after a freedom of information request revealed that between January 2022 and April 2025, only four human rights checks were completed by the public body on two companies within the defence sector – Babcock Marine and BAE Systems.
Yet The Ferret found that since January 2022, Scottish Enterprise has collectively given arms firms linked to Israel (Raytheon, Thales and Leonardo) at least £2,746,000. |
| Read the full story |
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What did we dig up this week? |
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A round up of our investigations in the last seven days |
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Scots universities took funding from Chinese organisations with military links |
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Scottish universities have accepted millions of pounds from Chinese organisations with alleged links to the military, human rights abuses and spying, The Ferret can reveal. |
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Human rights checks on arms firms to be tightened but critics express concern |
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Human rights due diligence on firms seeking Scottish Government grants will be tightened following criticism that those supplying states accused of war crimes have received taxpayers’ money. |
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Question of the week |
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Are Scottish Enterprise's human rights due diligence checks stringent enough? |
| Yes |
| No |
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Last week in Canada, world leaders jointly condemned transnational repression as a threat to sovereignty. But at home, many are unprepared to deal with China’s far-reaching intimidation of its dissident diaspora. (ICIJ) |
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