Hoax bomb threat emails target hundreds of schools across Scotland and Northern Ireland
Hundreds of schools across Scotland and Northern Ireland received hoax bomb threat emails, prompting over 300 calls to Police Scotland. Cyber crime officers are investigating the source.
Hundreds of Scottish and Northern Irish schools hit by coordinated hoax bomb email
More than 300 calls were made to Police Scotland after schools across the country received threatening emails warning of explosive devices on their premises, bbc.co.uk reports. Specialist cyber crime officers have launched an investigation into the origin of the messages, which were sent to both primary and secondary schools.
The warnings were quickly identified as hoaxes. Learning continued as normal in schools where pupils had already returned from the October break, while others were still on holiday and therefore unaffected. Around 300 schools in Northern Ireland received similar hoax emails.
A Police Scotland spokesperson confirmed the scale of the response: "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 inquiries to establish the source."
Councils respond across Scotland
BBC Scotland contacted all 32 Scottish local authorities. More than half confirmed that schools in their area had received a warning email. Among those affected were Scottish Borders, East Lothian, East Renfrewshire, Glasgow, Edinburgh, East Dunbartonshire, Angus, Midlothian, South Lanarkshire, North Lanarkshire, Moray, North Ayrshire, South Ayrshire, Inverclyde and Argyll and Bute.
Highland and Aberdeenshire councils said they were not aware of any threat. West Dunbartonshire and East Ayrshire referred enquiries to the Police Scotland statement.
In parts of Scotland where pupils had not yet returned from the holiday, staff were in school for an in-service day. City of Edinburgh Council asked staff to work from home as a precaution, with a similar arrangement offered to staff at some Inverclyde schools. One school in South Lanarkshire was closed, though this was due to an unrelated heating issue.
Many councils moved swiftly to reassure parents. A message sent to families in Perth & Kinross read: "Similar emails have been received by schools across the country and reported to Police Scotland. They are being investigated as a hoax communication and, importantly, there is currently no information to suggest any cause for concern. We know reports like this can be worrying for families."
"Very unusual" in scale, says teaching union
Andrea Bradley, general secretary of the EIS teaching union, acknowledged that hoax bomb warnings at schools had occurred before, but described the scale of this incident as "very unusual", given that it targeted schools in both Scotland and Northern Ireland simultaneously.
"Schools have responded with calm, they have made decisions today that have been very much led by advice from Police Scotland who quite quickly were able to identify that this was a hoax," Bradley said.
She added: "But nonetheless the person who put together those emails did so with the intention of causing fear and alarm, and I think it's fair to say that has been somewhat successful, and that is a worry in itself."
Edinburgh education chief condemns disruption
City of Edinburgh Council's education convener James Dalgleish said he was relieved the threat had been confirmed as a hoax but expressed frustration at the targeting of schools. "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," he said.
Dalgleish noted that the impact on pupils in Edinburgh was "thankfully more limited" due to the in-service day, but said this "doesn't take away from the stupidity of this person's actions".
No precedent for simultaneous cross-border targeting
Councils said that while threats to individual schools are not unheard of, an incident of this scale — targeting schools across Scotland at the same time as those in Northern Ireland — is without precedent in their experience.
Social media has seen a spread of conspiracy theories in the wake of the news. Police, councils and teaching staff have been consistent in their message: the emails are considered a hoax and should be treated as such. For schools where pupils were back from their October break, the day proceeded as normal, with children in classrooms as usual.
Source: The Sun