Scotland's education secretary says hoax school bomb threats pose no public risk

Scotland's education secretary said the recent hoax bomb threat emails sent to roughly 1,000 primary and secondary schools do not pose a risk to the public. Police Scotland and specialist cyber-crime officers assessed the messages as hoaxes within an hour of receipt and found no evidence of a credible threat.

Assistant Chief Constable Mark Sutherland told BBC Scotland News that parents should not keep children away from school. > "First and foremost, I'll be sending my daughter to school tomorrow. I think what is important is that we continue to be vigilant, but we are not alarmed. We have carried out a significant amount of checks on all of the information we have gathered so far and there is nothing to suggest there is a credible threat and there is no requirement to keep children away from education settings."

Sutherland added that investigators believe the emails may have originated from the same source as previous threats sent to schools in Northern Ireland and elsewhere in the UK, but it remains too early to identify the perpetrators. Police will collaborate with partners across the UK and internationally in a joint investigation.

Education secretary Mairi McAllan, who also serves as a constituency MSP, said she understands the concern for parents, pupils, carers and staff, and reiterated Police Scotland's advice that the emails contain no threat to the public. She noted that a considerable amount of work is underway to determine the motivations and individuals behind the messages.

The incident follows a similar hoax alert on 19 October that generated more than 300 police calls. Earlier this week, schools in Dumfries and Galloway received the email and some were temporarily evacuated as a precaution. A local authority spokesperson said each school community has its own approach to supporting and reassuring learners and staff.