Around 1,000 schools in Scotland and about 300 in Northern Ireland received bomb threats on Wednesday 11 November. Some schools were evacuated as a precaution, but Police Scotland said there was nothing to suggest the threats were credible or that there was a wider risk to the public. Police in Northern Ireland assessed the risk as low.
The Guardian and BBC report that the messages reached schools in both parts of the UK. The figures are approximate: the Guardian reports around 1,000 schools in Scotland, while the BBC puts the number at at least 1,000. About 300 schools in Northern Ireland received the messages.
Evacuations were a precaution
Some Scottish schools evacuated their premises, including schools in Edinburgh and Dumfries and Galloway. Police Scotland said, however, that the content of the emails alone did not justify evacuating schools or keeping children at home. That assessment applied specifically to this wave of messages, rather than to every potential threat involving a school.
Education authorities in Northern Ireland issued similar guidance: schools should remain open unless the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) advised otherwise. PSNI representative Anthony McNally said the risk to the public was assessed as low at that stage. The investigation remained ongoing.
Police investigate who sent the messages
Police Scotland’s cybercrime specialists are among those working on the investigation. They are cooperating with partners across the UK and overseas to identify those responsible.
Although police did not consider the threats credible, the messages caused real disruption at some schools. For parents, the important distinction is between a precautionary evacuation and a confirmed threat: the precautions taken did not mean that police had judged the emails to be credible.
