Hundreds of schools in Scotland and Northern Ireland were hit by a fresh wave of hoax bomb threats on Wednesday, with some sites evacuated as a precaution.
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sites → hit → precaution
Police said at least 470 schools, from Dumfries in the south of Scotland to Aberdeenshire and Orkney in the north, had received the hoax warnings.
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schools → say → warnings
At least 300 schools were affected in Northern Ireland.
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schools → affect → Ireland
Similar claims were sent in a “generic communication” to schools in the Republic of Ireland.
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claims → send → Ireland
Officials were quick to reassure schools and parents that the threats were bogus, and similar to hoax threats made last month.
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threats → reassure → threats
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “Our inquiries have established that there is nothing to suggest that they represent a credible threat or that there is any wider threat to the public.
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they → say → public
“We understand how distressing messages of this nature can be for pupils, parents, carers and school staff, and the concern they can understandably cause.
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they → understand → pupils
Our advice is that there is no requirement to evacuate schools or keep children away from education based solely on the content of the emails.
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advice → be → emails
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.”
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they → send → threat
Police Scotland’s cyber and fraud unit is liaising with security and law enforcement bodies in the UK and overseas to try to find who was responsible.
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who → liaise → UK
Northern Ireland’s education minister, Paul Givan, said last month’s hoaxes appeared to be “Islamist” and were signed “Allahu Akbar” – Arabic for “God is greater”.
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God → say → ?
However, there was no public confirmation the threats were Islamist in origin.
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threats → be → origin
Schools in Scotland were told to readmit any pupils who had been evacuated and to resume classes.
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who → tell → classes
Dumfries and Galloway council confirmed children had been sent home after a majority of schools received messages.
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majority → confirm → messages
Highland council confirmed some of its schools “made the decision to activate their emergency protocols”.
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some → confirm → protocols
Glasgow council advised parents by email that the claims of devices planted in schools were false, saying: “Our police colleagues have confirmed that this is a hoax and that schools should not be evacuated.”
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schools → advise → schools
In Edinburgh, a council spokesperson confirmed schools were “briefly evacuated as a precaution this morning, following receipt of threatening messages”.
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schools → confirm → messages
They added: “[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.”
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schools → add → child
In Northern Ireland, education officials advised schools to remain open “unless otherwise advised” by the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI).
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officials → advise → Ireland
“As always, schools are advised to be vigilant and report any suspicious activity to the PSNI,” said a spokesperson for Northern Ireland’s education authority.
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spokesperson → advise → authority
“We fully appreciate that any message of this nature is distressing and can assure schools, parents/carers and children and young people that we will provide a further update following engagement with police.”
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we → appreciate → police
Anthony McNally, an assistant chief constable at the PSNI, offered further reassurance.
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McNally → offer → reassurance
“We take incidents of this nature very seriously and we understand the concern in the community, school communities and for students and parents.
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we → take → students
However, at this stage, we consider the risk to the public as low,” he said.
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he → consider → public
In Ireland, the Garda Síochána confirmed it had assessed the threat as “not credible” and had not called for any evacuations.
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it → confirm → evacuations
The Aporia
