At the end of 2019 the first minister of Scotland pulled an orange high-viz vest over her winter coat and announced what she thought was some very big good news.
Nicola Sturgeon was officially unveiling a £37 million upgrade to a factory in Stirling making rock wool, an insulation material. The new facility, she said, was “testimony” to the commitment of her hosts, Superglass, to the city and to Scotland. The company was, she added, “not only creating new jobs, but securing the future of the site and its talented workforce”.
What Sturgeon did not say — at least according to an official press release produced by Superglass — was where the money was coming from: Vladimir Putin’s Russia.
Nicola Sturgeon with Ken Munro, chief executive of Superglass, an insulation materials maker, at the opening of its factory in Stirling in 2019
The Scottish factory had been bought
