@robedwards5.bsky.social
Environmental journalist, nuclear muckraker, serial user of freedom of information law @theferret.scot. Also with @wordsthatcarryon.bsky.social. Migrated from X.
A yellow warning sign on a beach reads “KEEP OUT – SEWAGE CONTAMINATED WATER. EXPOSURE MAY CAUSE ILLNESS.” Waves crash near a pier in the background. Overlaid text says: “These Scottish beaches were officially rated ‘excellent’. But they were polluted with human and animal waste.”
"Our waters are for all of us, and people should be able to swim, bathe and relax safely"
theferret.scot/scott...
🔴 NEW: High levels of faecal bacteria were recorded at dozens of Scotland’s best beaches this summer. Campaigners say swimmers and paddlers could be at risk, but ministers and regulators insist water quality remains high.
Our latest: theferret.scot/scott...
Two brown trout swim underwater near the riverbed, surrounded by green plants. The image is overlaid with text reading: “Footage of trout being clubbed and slaughtered prompts complaint to regulator.”
🔴 NEW: Footage of farmed trout apparently suffocating, haemorrhaging, and being beaten with batons in a slaughterhouse has prompted an official complaint to a government regulator.
Our latest: theferret.scot/foota...
An aerial view of a rocket launch site surrounded by forest, showing a small rocket with orange and grey markings standing upright beside several white and grey containers, vehicles, and equipment on a dirt track. Text overlay reads: “Ukrainian owner of Scots space rocket firm linked to online gambling in Russia and ‘I am naughty’ dating site.”
🔴 NEW: The Ukrainian owner of Scotland’s first rocket firm with a space launch licence — backed by millions in public funds — has historic links to offshore dating and gambling businesses, including one called I Am Naughty, The Ferret can reveal.
theferret.scot/max-p...
📢 We've been nominated for a British Journalism Award for our environmental reporting.
Well done to @billybriggs24.bsky.social, @paul.theferret.scot
and @robedwards5.bsky.social 🎉
pressgazette.co.uk/press-gazett...
Emissions from five major Scottish incinerators now exceed those of some of the country’s usual big polluters, including fossil fuel sites like the now-closed Grangemouth refinery and Peterhead power station.
Find out more: theferret.scot/scotl...
🔴 NEW: A company that sold a major Highland port for an undisclosed sum to a Japanese firm received over £30m of taxpayers’ money – including £10m just a few months ahead of the sale.
Our latest: theferret.scot/globa...
Two industrial chimneys emit thick white smoke against a cloudy sky. Text on the image reads: “Scotland’s waste burners pump out record pollution.”
🔴 NEW: Climate pollution from the burning of rubbish in Scotland has almost doubled in five years, according to new data, with some incinerators releasing higher amounts of toxic chemicals than ever before in 2024.
Our latest investigation: bit.ly/4o0zDZH
🔴 NEW: Community groups claim they have been “shut out” of the Scottish Government’s flagship just transition fund due to “corporate capture” with the vast majority of money from the £500m pot going to the private sector.
Read more: theferret.scot/anger...
🔴 NEW: Lochs in Orkney, the Highlands and the Outer Hebrides are among waters containing high levels of toxic pollutants with health risks known as ‘forever chemicals’.
Our latest investigation: theferret.scot/orkne...
A digital 3D model, displayed against a plain black background. White text above reads: “The Israel Defense Forces used a Scottish museum’s 3D models in propaganda videos.” The image is branded with The Ferret’s logo in the corner.
A months-long investigation by The Ferret and a group of international journalists found there have been 40 propaganda animations produced by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in the past two years – including several using the Scottish Maritime Museum’s 3D scans
theferret.scot/idf-s...
A digital 3D model, displayed against a plain black background. White text above reads: “The Israel Defense Forces used a Scottish museum’s 3D models in propaganda videos.” The image is branded with The Ferret’s logo in the corner.
Once repackaged by the IDF, an electricity box from a Scottish museum workshop became part of a secret Iranian bunker, and a street corner from suburban Washington was proof of a Hamas command centre.
Find out more: theferret.scot/idf-s...
The Scottish Environment Protection Agency has ordered monitoring to “establish the extent of contamination”.
www.thenational.scot/news/2552519...
At least ten patrols by the UK's nuclear-armed submarines are understood to have exceeded five months, says the Daily Mail, raising concerns about rising risks.
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article...
🔴NEW: At least 20 racist incidents took place in Scotland last month including attacks on mosques and asylum hotels, alleged assaults – and the jailing of a neo-Nazi for slashing a student in the face with a knife.
Find out more: bit.ly/477AYHY
🔴 On the day the Tories pledge to repeal the climate change act, we reveal one of their senior politicians in Scotland has been “cosying up” to the UK’s “main climate denial group”.
bit.ly/4763mtZ
Lord Malcolm Offord of Garvel – the Scottish Tory treasurer – will join a panel hosted by "climate denial" group the Global Warming Policy Foundation (GWPF) at the Conservative party conference in Manchester next week.
bit.ly/4763mtZ
A barbed-wire fence surrounds military buildings at a naval base with hills in the background. Text overlay: “Navy told to remove radioactive waste from nuclear bomb base.”
"This ongoing scandal of poor maintenance at the Royal Navy’s nuclear bases is exposing the myth that nuclear weapons keep us safe"
bit.ly/48GfDqe
The Ferret is 10! We've spent a decade digging where others won’t — now we’re taking a night off to celebrate.
Join us for music, dancing and some very special guests. Get your tickets: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-ferret...
A barbed-wire fence surrounds military buildings at a naval base with hills in the background. Text overlay: “Navy told to remove radioactive waste from nuclear bomb base.”
Campaigners warned of a “culture of negligence” at “high risk” sites threatening public safety and the environment.
Our latest: theferret.scot/navy-...
🔴 NEW: The Scottish Government’s green watchdog has been urging the Royal Navy to remove potentially radioactive waste from the UK nuclear bomb base on the Clyde to reduce the risk of leaks and pollution.
Find out more: theferret.scot/navy-...
leafless tree stands in the middle of floodwater, its bare branches spreading wide against the grey surface of the water. White text overlay reads: “It takes a village: a new approach to living with flooding.”
In 2012, a flood forced Dr Fiona Work out of her home in Edzell for 10 months. Eleven years later, the village flood group she helped form saved the community during Storm Babet.
Our latest: theferret.scot/new-a...
In Brechin, Storm Babet brought the worst flooding residents could remember. Nearly two years on, many are still struggling to recover.
Our latest: theferret.scot/commu...
A guide for new journalists on how to use freedom of information:
ico.org.uk/foi-for-jour...
A view over grassy cliffs and coastline in Shetland with a large industrial building near the sea. Text overlay reads: "Shetland spaceport under fire from local community".
Islanders told researchers they had no direct word from SaxaVord about an explosion during a rocket test in 2024 or the suspension of building work in 2023
theferret.scot/shetl...
A view over grassy cliffs and coastline in Shetland with a large industrial building near the sea. Text overlay reads: "Shetland spaceport under fire from local community".
🔴 NEW: Disgruntled islanders have criticised Scotland’s first spaceport in the far north of Shetland for a “culture of secrecy and bad stewardship”, according to a new report.
Our latest: theferret.scot/shetl...
