Hoax Bomb Threats Target Schools in Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Italy

Based on reporting by BBC UK:

The education secretary for Scotland stated that there is no danger to the public following a recent wave of hoax bomb threats directed at schools nationwide, which occurred less than a month after a prior alert. At least 1,000 schools received the hoax email, although both police and the government indicated there was nothing within the messages to suggest a genuine threat. Government minister Mairi McAllan informed parliament that the situation was "very much in hand."

Specialist cyber-crime officers are currently working to determine the origin of the messages, which were distributed to both primary and secondary schools. Similar fraudulent emails were sent to 300 schools in Northern Ireland, and schools in Italy also received threats.

Assistant Chief Constable Mark Sutherland advised the BBC Scotland News that police were able to classify the threat as a hoax within approximately an hour and advised parents against keeping their children away from school. He stated that after reviewing gathered information, there was no indication of a credible threat and no necessity to keep children out of educational facilities. Sutherland mentioned that officers believed the email originated from the same source as those sent to schools in Northern Ireland and other parts of the UK, but it was "too early to say" who was responsible. He added that they would collaborate with partners both within the UK and internationally to conduct a joint investigation.

Regarding the threats at schools, more than 300 calls were made to the police after a comparable message was sent to schools across the country on October 19. In many regions, students were absent due to half-term holidays. On Wednesday, the majority of schools in Dumfries and Galloway received the email, and some were evacuated as a precaution. A spokesperson for the local authority noted that each school community has its own method for supporting and reassuring learners and staff, and that local police had attended some school settings to assist and reassure.

In Edinburgh, Queensferry High School was evacuated, and students were sent home. Highland Council confirmed that several of its schools decided to activate their emergency protocols. Local authorities in Glasgow, Edinburgh, East Lothian, Aberdeenshire, and Orkney also confirmed that their schools received the message.

In Northern Ireland, the Education Authority (EA) noted that the message shared similarities with a bogus threat sent the previous month, which the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) treated as a hoax. The PSNI reported that the email originated from outside the UK. In Italy, reports indicated that 280 school head teachers had received threats in recent days, prompting Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to convene a meeting of top ministers and intelligence chiefs concerning the matter.

Mairi McAllan, the education secretary, informed MSPs that she had met with local authorities and police. She stated that as a constituency MSP and parent, she understood the concern this would cause for parents, students, caregivers, and school staff, and reiterated Police Scotland's advice that the email content suggested no threats to the public. The cabinet secretary also mentioned that Police Scotland and its UK partners were undertaking "considerable amount of work" to understand the motivations and the individuals behind the incidents.