Bomb threats sent to thousands of schools across the United Kingdom, Ireland and Italy are being treated as hoaxes by police — the latest in a wave of hoaxes and disruptions that have hit Europe in recent weeks.
Around 6,300 schools in Italy and more than 700 in Scotland and Northern Ireland received threatening emails, according to local authorities.
Police in the Republic of Ireland said they were aware of a "generic communication" sent to a number of "educational establishments", but dismissed it as "not credible".
A number of schools in Italy were evacuated as a precaution, but Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said checks had so far found no evidence of "concrete danger". "These reports appear rather linked to a strategy intended to cause alarm and concern," she said on Facebook.
A single email appears to have been sent on Wednesday to 6,300 of Italy's 7,476 state schools, while private schools were unaffected, officials said.
Purporting to be from a "Mikhail Andropov, leader of Vilayat di Misoginistan", the message caused alarm in many Italian schools. An email sent to Scottish schools, seen by the BBC, appeared to have similar wording and also referenced Mikhail Andropov — though as leader of a "Red Owl" project.
Police in Northern Ireland confirmed the email originated abroad and was being treated as a hoax.
Assistant Chief Constable Anthony McNally said, "We take incidents of this nature very seriously, and we understand the concern in the community, school communities and for students and parents.
"Our inquiries are ongoing. However, at this stage, we consider the risk to the public as low."
Police Scotland said the warnings were "immediately assessed" as hoaxes, though several local authorities confirmed that some schools had been evacuated.
Scotland's Education Secretary Mairi McAllan said there was no risk to the public and that cybercrime specialists were hunting for whoever sent the messages.
Whether the incidents are linked remains unclear. Italy's Education Minister Giuseppe Valditara called them a probable "cyberattack, not a genuine risk", suggesting the wave of threats was a coordinated campaign.
The incidents have added to unease across the continent, which has seen a spate of disruptions including sabotage of supermarket refrigeration systems.
Last week, Italian airports and airlines elsewhere in Europe were hit by bomb hoaxes that sparked evacuations.
jonathan@mail.chinadailyuk.com
