Busy week last week? Catch up on all the news you may have missed with our DeSmog dispatch over your morning cup of coffee (or afternoon, we don’t judge). And sign up here to receive our round-up via email.

Last week a megamerger was announced between Shell and BG Group. So, we took a look at what happen when oil giants Exxon and Mobil got together in our DeSmog UK epic history series.

The week ended with a bang as it was revealed that Conservative Energy and Climate Change minister Matthew Hancock has received £18,000 in donations from a climate denier. (You might remember that last September, we exposed said climate denier as a funder of Lord Lawson’s climate sceptic charity, the GWPF.)

Revealed: Climate Denier Neil Record Backs Tory Energy and Climate Change Minister Matthew Hancock

Conservative energy and climate change minister Matthew Hancock has accepted £18,000 in donations from climate sceptic Neil Record. Neil Record, a City currency manager and trustee of the free market Institute of Economic Affairs, was exposed by DeSmog UK last September as a key backer of Nigel Lawson’s climate denial lobby group, the Global Warming Policy Foundation. Read more here.

Why Did Scotland’s First Minister Meet with Pro-Fracking Firm Ineos the Same Day Scotland Announced a Moratorium?

Scotland’s First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, is facing mounting criticism after it was revealed that she met with pro-fracking Ineos chairman Jim Ratcliffe on the same day that Scotland announced a moratorium on fracking. The January 28 meeting between Sturgeon and Ratcliffe coincided with a U-turn from Ineos. Find out more.

Mark Serwotka: Trade Unions and the Environmental Movement are Natural Allies

The trade union movement and the environmental movement should be “together like hand in glove, they should be allies,” argues Mark Serwotka, the General Secretary of the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) – the trade union for British civil servants. Read his full speech here.

This is What Happened When Oil Giants Exxon and Mobil Joined Forces

Our DeSmog UK epic history series continues with the merger between two oil giants, Exxon and Mobil. In its first year, ExxonMobil earned $228bn – more than Sweden’s GDP at the time. In the coming years, the denial machine would have the economic force of an OECD nation state behind it. Click to continue reading.