Police have revealed that around 1,000 schools across Scotland were targeted by hoax bomb threats on Wednesday, as investigators work to establish who was responsible for the latest wave of threatening messages.
The scale of the incident was confirmed by Police Scotland on Wednesday evening, following a day of disruption which saw pupils and staff evacuated from schools across the country.
Assistant Chief Constable Mark Sutherland said the emails contained bomb threats and disturbing language, but officers had quickly established there was no credible danger to the public.
The messages were distributed widely to schools across Scotland and other parts of the UK, prompting emergency procedures in several council areas.
Schools in Edinburgh, Fife, Perth and Kinross and Inverclyde were among those evacuated as a precaution. Other areas affected included Aberdeenshire, the Highlands, Orkney, North Ayrshire and South Lanarkshire.
Police Scotland said the threats had been assessed within an hour of officers being alerted.
Mr Sutherland said: “These messages were immediately assessed and we are treating them as hoaxes.”
He confirmed that Police Scotland’s Cyber and Fraud Unit was carrying out extensive enquiries to identify the source of the emails, working alongside law enforcement agencies across the UK and internationally.
The senior officer also warned that those responsible appeared intent on spreading misinformation, undermining public confidence and disrupting schools.
Police have advised that there is no need to evacuate school buildings or keep children away from classes solely because of the threatening emails.
The latest incident comes less than a month after similar messages were sent to Scottish schools on 19 October, also prompting precautionary evacuations.
Investigators have not established whether the two incidents are connected, with Mr Sutherland saying police were keeping an open mind.
The disruption prompted an urgent meeting between Education Secretary Màiri McAllan, Police Scotland, councils and other agencies on Wednesday.
Addressing the Scottish Parliament, Ms McAllan said parents needed reassurance about the safety of their children.
She said: “Parents need the highest levels of assurance when it comes to their children, and I want them to have that.”
The Education Secretary confirmed that police and counterterrorism specialists across the UK and Europe were working to understand the motives and identities of those behind the hoaxes.
Edinburgh City Council confirmed that some schools had been briefly evacuated before police established there was no credible threat.
Similar emails were received by hundreds of schools in Northern Ireland, while authorities in the Republic of Ireland and Italy also reported widespread threatening messages.
More than 300 schools in Northern Ireland were affected, with thousands of schools in Italy receiving comparable threats.
Police Scotland has stressed that there is no evidence of any wider danger to the public, while the investigation into the origin of the messages continues.