Big business including oil and renewable energy, farming, fishing, finance and whisky dominated Scotland Office ministers’ meetings last year, analysis by The Ferret has found.
We looked at all external meetings logged in 2020 by Alister Jack, Secretary of State for Scotland, UK Government ministers for Scotland David Duguid and Iain Stewart, as well as Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross, who was deputy Secretary of State until he resigned in May that year.
Analysis showed that almost 90 per cent (168 of 188) of these meetings were with industry bodies and business groups.
Scottish Office ministers only met with two charities last year, according to their diaries – The Trussell Trust and the Marine Conservation Society UK.