Bomb hoax forces school evacuations across Northern Ireland, Scotland
Police say an email threatening explosives, signed 'Allahu Akbar', reached up to 300 Northern Ireland schools and also hit Scotland.
Police in Northern Ireland and Scotland said on Monday they were treating a bomb threat emailed to hundreds of schools as a hoax, after schools evacuated pupils and sent some home. The Police Service of Northern Ireland said up to 300 schools in the region had reported receiving the same message, though earlier accounts from the Education Authority put the number at around 160.
Northern Ireland's education minister, Paul Givan, said the email claimed explosive devices had been planted inside schools and was signed off "Allahu Akbar", threatening that Sharia law would be imposed. He said checks carried out so far had found nothing to support the threat and that police did not consider it viable, though he called the disruption "hugely disruptive and very distressing".
At St Colman's Primary School in Lambeg, principal Stephen Baine said about 400 pupils and 80 staff were evacuated after the school received the email at around 8:50am, with teachers moving children out of classrooms to the back of the site while awaiting police guidance. Parents arrived to collect their children within 30 to 40 minutes, in what Baine called a "very coordinated" response. The message also included a further threat of repeated attacks across the country, according to Baine's account of it. Parents of pupils at the Royal Belfast Academical Institution were separately told a "very large number of schools" had received an anonymous threat describing an explosive device planted on the premises.
PSNI Assistant Chief Constable Ryan Henderson said the force was continuing urgent enquiries but considered the risk to the public low, and confirmed the email had originated from outside the UK. The Education Authority said it was liaising closely with police and had briefed school leaders.
Police Scotland said it was also aware of threatening messages sent to a number of schools there and was investigating. Some schools in the Glasgow area were evacuated during the morning before reopening, according to Portuguese outlet Notícias ao Minuto.
Lisburn councillor Jonathan Craig said it was "terrible that someone would do something like this and target children", and called on police to identify and prosecute whoever sent the threat.
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What we know
- Police said up to 300 Northern Ireland schools received the same threatening email on Monday; the Education Authority had earlier put the figure at around 160.
- The email claimed explosive devices were planted and was signed "Allahu Akbar", education minister Paul Givan said.
- PSNI said the email originated from outside the UK and assessed the risk to the public as low.
- Police Scotland said some schools there also received threats; a number in the Glasgow area were evacuated before reopening.
Why it matters for Europe
The hoax emptied schools across an entire region on a working Monday morning, despite police treating it as not viable almost immediately. Its scale, reaching up to 300 schools in Northern Ireland and reportedly schools in Scotland too, from an email police say originated outside the UK, prompted investigations by both the PSNI and Police Scotland into who sent it and why.
Sources
Reported by 4 reports from 4 independent outlets in 3 countries.
- BirminghamLive: UK schools evacuated with parents told to collect children after bomb threat
- Belfast Telegraph: Police treating ‘bomb threat’ email to 300 NI schools as a hoax originating outside UK
- Evening Standard: Police treating bomb threat sent to hundreds of schools as ‘hoax’
- Evening Standard: Police treating bomb threat sent to hundreds of schools as ‘hoax’
- Notícias ao Minuto: Ameaças de bomba levam ao fecho e evacuação de escolas no Reino Unido
Source balance
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Questions and answers
- How many schools were affected by the bomb threat?
- Police said up to 300 schools in Northern Ireland received the same threatening email, with further threats reaching schools in Scotland.
- Is the threat considered credible?
- No. Police said their enquiries found nothing to support it and assessed the risk to the public as low.
- Where did the email come from?
- The PSNI said the message originated from outside the UK.
This article was written with AI assistance from 5 verified reports and checked under the ECTV editorial policy. Spotted an error? Request a correction.