Hundreds of schools across Scotland and Northern Ireland were targeted by hoax bomb threats on Wednesday, prompting brief evacuations before police confirmed the messages were not credible.
Police Scotland said the messages were sent to a number of schools in the country this morning. After being assessed, the messages are now being treated as hoaxes.
Scale of the Threats
More than 470 primary and secondary schools in Scotland received a bogus bomb threat, while similar threats were sent to 300 schools in Northern Ireland. Police Scotland said there was "no requirement to evacuate schools or keep children away" based on the content of the messages.
A spokesperson for the force added: "They have been sent widely to distribution lists across the UK and Northern Ireland, and our assessment remains that they do not represent a credible threat. Police Scotland’s cyber and fraud unit is carrying out extensive inquiries to establish the source of the messages and officers continue to liaise with law enforcement partners across the UK and internationally."
Evacuations and Reassurance
Despite police attempts to ease concern, a number of schools were evacuated today due to the threat. Many have since allowed their pupils to return to class as normal.
A City of Edinburgh Council spokesperson said: "Schools in Edinburgh were briefly evacuated as a precaution this morning, following receipt of threatening messages. These threats have now been confirmed by Police Scotland not to be credible, with messages being treated as a hoax.
"The safety of children and young people, and all who work in our schools, is our top priority and we will always act in line with our safety protocols and procedures, as we did today. We understand the impact this can have on families and want to reassure parents and carers that our schools are safe, and there is no need to remove your child.
"We continue to work closely with Police Scotland and will keep schools updated as further information becomes available."
Police Service Northern Ireland (PSNI) said enquiries have led investigators to conclude the email threats had originated from outside the UK. More than 300 schools received the same email containing a bomb threat in Northern Ireland, police said.
Wider European Campaign
Assistant Chief Constable Anthony McNally said: "We take incidents of this nature very seriously and we understand the concern in the community, school communities and for students and parents. Our enquiries are ongoing, however, at this stage we consider risk to the public as low.
"We will continue to liaise with schools impacted and have been working closely with the Department of Education and the Education Authority this morning to provide reassurance."
Around 6,300 schools received threatening emails in Italy, with hundreds of them evacuated, according to Italy's Ministry of Education. Giuseppe Valditara said there were no clear signs of immediate danger to the public and the campaign appeared to be part of a wider strategy to cause alarm.
Similar bogus bomb threats sparked disruption with flights across Europe in recent days while other emails targeted supermarkets, blood banks and other locations across the continent. The identity of the individual or organisation behind the bogus threats is unknown at this time.
