Police Scotland has confirmed it received more than 300 calls after threatening messages were sent to a number of schools across Scotland, with the incidents being treated as a hoax. Several schools in Edinburgh, Fife, and South Lanarkshire were locked down on Monday morning, October 18, although pupils had not yet returned to classrooms following the October break, with staff working during in-service days told to go home.
Police Scotland Response
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: "Police Scotland received more than 300 calls after threatening messages were sent to a number of schools across Scotland. These messages are being treated as a hoax. Officers and staff from Police Scotland’s Cyber and Fraud Unit are carrying out extensive enquiries to establish the source." The spokesperson added: "For information about specific schools, contact your local authority."
The threats came as up to 300 schools in Northern Ireland received similar messages, which are also not being treated as viable. The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said they are treating the threatening emails as a hoax and that the message originated from outside the UK.
Local Authority Actions
Edinburgh Council confirmed that schools will reopen as normal tomorrow. A number of children attending holiday clubs in Clackmannanshire were evacuated this morning but later returned to school. Around 148 Glasgow schools received the threatening messages, with some evacuating before later returning. Some teachers in Inverclyde decided to work from home as a result of the threats, while nurseries in Stirlingshire remained open as normal.
In a letter to parents and guardians, Glasgow City Council confirmed it is continuing to work with police to look into the matter, stating that children’s safety remains their top priority. A council spokesperson said: "Police are treating the messages as a hoax, and we will help officers as part of their investigation. Our education director has issued a comms to our families to reassure them of the actions that were followed as the safety of our pupils and staff remain our top priority."
North Lanarkshire Council said it was "working closely with Police Scotland" over the calls, saying its schools "have well-established procedures for dealing with these type of incidents" and that they would be remaining open.
Official Reactions
Speaking on behalf of pupils and staff in Edinburgh, education convener councillor James Dalgleish said: "While I’m obviously relieved that this has been confirmed as a hoax, I’m hugely frustrated that someone would target schools and young people in this way – causing unnecessary disruption right across the UK. With it being an in-service day here in Edinburgh, the impact on our pupils was thankfully more Iimited but that doesn’t take away from the stupidity of this person’s actions. I am, however, reassured that our procedures were properly followed and that, as far as possible, we were able to put alternative arrangements in place."
The Scottish Government said it was informed about the threats. A spokesperson said: "We are aware threatening messages have been sent to a number of schools across Scotland and elsewhere in the UK. Police Scotland is investigating and treating (them) as a hoax."
On Thursday, nurseries and schools were threatened in the East Lothian Council area, with police confirming they were treating the threat, sent via email, as a hoax. Stormont education minister Paul Givan said: "This morning 160 schools received a threat reporting – it would appear to me from Islamists threatening that Sharia law will be brought into our country and that there is viable devices within those school settings and it was signed off ‘Allah Akbar’. That has been escalated to the PSNI, and the Education Authority are having emergency meetings with the police this morning. At this stage the advice to schools is that we’re not treating this as a viable threat but it has clearly caused huge alarm. Some schools have closed as a result of this threat being received through formal communication channels to those schools, something that I absolutely condemn that there has been this level of disruption caused to young people’s education."
Last month, a male youth was charged in connection with malicious communications after a hoax school bomb threat in East Kilbride. Police Scotland were alerted to the message posted by an anonymous social media account, and "subsequent online messaging" claimed explosives had been hidden at Calderglen High School. Officers swept the area with specialist resources, including sniffer dogs, but nothing of concern was found.
