Bomb threats sent to schools in Italy, Scotland and Northern Ireland treated as hoaxes

Schools in Italy, Scotland and Northern Ireland received emailed bomb threats on Wednesday in what authorities described as a suspected hoax.

Italy

Italian officials said a single email was sent to the inboxes of 6,300 out of a total of 7,476 state schools. Private schools were unaffected, according to the BBC. The message was said to be from a certain "Mikhail Andropov, leader of Vilayat di Misoginistan".

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said checks so far had not indicated any evidence of "concrete danger". "These reports appear rather linked to a strategy intended to cause alarm and concern," she said on Facebook.

Italy's Education Minister Giuseppe Valditara said the incidents were probably a "cyber-attack, not a genuine risk".

Scotland and Northern Ireland

Police Scotland said about 1,000 schools had received the hoax warnings, while earlier estimates put the figure at at least 470 schools. At least 300 schools were affected in Northern Ireland.

Scotland's education secretary Mairi McAllan said there was no risk to the public and specialist cyber-crime officers were working to identify the source of the messages. "As a parent and as a constituency MSP I understand just how concerning this will be for parents, for pupils, for carers and for school staff," McAllan said.

Police Scotland said its advice was that there was no requirement to evacuate schools or keep children away from education based solely on the content of the emails. However, some local authorities confirmed that some schools had been evacuated.

In Northern Ireland, education officials told schools to remain open unless otherwise advised by police.

Context

Italian airports along with airlines elsewhere in Europe were hit by a series of bomb hoaxes last week that prompted scares, evacuations and widespread disruption. Although a number of threats were claimed by an extremist misogynistic group, it later denied any link to the false warnings.

It is unclear whether the school incidents are connected to the airline threats. Authorities have not attributed the threats to any group or state, and no evidence has emerged linking the hoaxes to a government.

Why it matters

The threats caused disruption across multiple countries on the same day, with some schools evacuated and others told to remain open. Officials in all affected jurisdictions said the threats were not credible, but the coordinated nature of the emails raised concerns about wider efforts to create alarm and concern across Europe.

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Sources

• bbc.com: Schools in Italy, Scotland and Northern Ireland hit by threats in suspected bomb hoax
• theguardian.com: Hoax bomb threats made to schools in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Italy | Schools | The Guardian
• latimes.com: Italy's Meloni says cyberthreats are intended to spread fear after schools hit by bomb threat - Los Angeles Times
• ft.com: Thousands of schools in Italy, Scotland and Ireland receive bomb threats
• plataformamedia.com: 470 Scottish schools get bomb-threat emails, treated as hoaxes; the same messages hit Northern Ireland and Italy
• cnbc.com: Hundreds of schools in Italy, UK evacuated over 'hoax' bomb threats

This article was drafted with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. Company claims are reported as claims. Cover image is AI-generated.