Council condemns racist disinformation over Scottish schools bomb hoax

A SCOTTISH council has condemned racist "disinformation" bomb threats sent to schools across the country.

On Wednesday morning, swathes of schools in Scotland received "threatening messages" warning that an explosive device had been planted in the premises.

It is the second time in just weeks that schools in Scotland have been sent such threats, with police treating both incidents as a hoax.

School sign (Image: Archive)

Many schools followed emergency procedures and briefly evacuated pupils while the threat was assessed by police.

However, Police Scotland advised that the messages "do not represent a credible threat" and that schools should remain open.

Investigations are ongoing to establish the source of the messages, which were also sent to schools across Northern Ireland and parts of Europe.

Disinformation around the incident has been rife on social media, leading one Scottish council to condemn "completely false" speculation the threats.

A post on Twitter/X, which gained more than 57,000 impressions, claimed that "a black man tried to enter a school in Perth and threatened to BOMB it with the kids in it".

The account went on to claim that "local parents have called a protest to demand answers", sharing screenshots of other social media posts which contained racial slurs.

Perth and Kinross Council issued a response , saying: "This is completely false. We are extremely disappointed that anyone would spread additional disinformation to create further alarm."

On Wednesday afternoon, Education Secretary Mairi McAllan gave an update in Holyrood , after convening an "urgent meeting" to coordinate a national response with local authorities.

Education Secretary Mairi McAllan (Image: PA)

She told MSPs: "Police Scotland have been investigating threatening messages that have been sent to a number of schools this morning.

"These messages were very rapidly assessed by Police Scotland as not being credible and are being treated as hoaxes."

McAllan continued: "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.

"I would take the opportunity to repeat Police Scotland's advice that there's nothing to suggest any threats to the public from the content of these emails, which have been received widely across the UK and Northern Ireland."