‘Vile and deplorable’ school bomb threats condemned by West Tyrone MLAs

POLITICAL representatives have condemned the “vile” and “deplorable” threatening emails sent to more than 300 schools across Northern Ireland, as concerns have been raised over the fear caused to families and the guidance provided to school leaders.

West Tyrone DUP MLA Tom Buchanan, SDLP MLA Daniel McCrossan and TUV West Tyrone representative Stevan Patterson have all strongly condemned the threats, which triggered widespread concern and disruption on Monday morning, October 19.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) is treating the emails as a hoax following extensive enquiries, with no evidence of anything untoward identified during checks.

However, the incident caused considerable anxiety among pupils, parents, teachers and school staff, with some schools temporarily closing while the threats were assessed. The majority of schools remained open.

Police believe the email originated outside the UK and are investigating the circumstances surrounding its distribution. Similar messages are understood to have been received by some schools elsewhere in the UK.

Mr Buchanan unreservedly condemned the threats, describing the disruption and fear caused within school communities as wholly unacceptable.

“While these threats turned out to be nothing more than a hoax, they caused major disruption and concern for both teaching staff and parents as they arrived at the schools which had received the threats,” he said.

“Communities throughout Northern Ireland were plunged into fear and anxiety for the safety of both pupils and teaching staff until this threat was verified as a hoax by the PSNI.

“Such reckless acts of behaviour within our school settings are nothing short of deplorable and those responsible should hang their heads in shame.”

The DUP representative called on police to pursue the investigation and identify those responsible.

“I call on the PSNI to do all in their power to try and locate the individual responsible and bring them to justice,” he said, urging anyone with information to pass it to police.

SDLP West Tyrone MLA Daniel McCrossan also condemned the threats, describing the targeting of children and school communities as “vile and utterly reprehensible”.

He said families had been left facing an anxious wait for information after sending their children to school expecting them to be safe.

“Those responsible have caused fear and distress among children, parents, teachers and school staff who should never have to face something like this,” he said.

“Teachers, staff, pupils and parents will be extremely shaken. The considerable disruption caused today will be felt well beyond the classroom, particularly by children who may struggle to understand what has happened.

“Our immediate priority must be the safety and wellbeing of everyone affected.”

However, Mr McCrossan also raised serious concerns about the support and guidance provided to schools during the incident, arguing that the Education Authority (EA) had not provided sufficiently clear and timely advice.

He said school principals carried an enormous responsibility for the children in their care and needed direct guidance, practical assistance and reassurance when confronted with threats of this seriousness.

“The EA must urgently work with the PSNI and CCMS to ensure schools receive consistent guidance, regular updates and a named point of contact,” he said.

“Parents also need clear information from their schools as the situation develops.”

Mr McCrossan praised school leaders and staff for their efforts to protect pupils and urged the public to follow official advice rather than share unconfirmed information.

Stevan Patterson, TUV representative for West Tyrone, also condemned the threats, calling for the UK Government to take a tougher approach to terrorism.

“Today Islamic terrorists issued threats to our school children,” he said.

“Although this email turned out to be a hoax, it caused fear and disruption and the threat remains.

“It is time for the UK Government to get serious in dealing with all terrorists both foreign and domestic.”

The PSNI said up to 300 schools had reported receiving the same email containing a generalised threat.

Assistant Chief Constable Ryan Henderson said police took incidents of this nature extremely seriously and recognised the concern and disruption caused across school communities.

“Our enquiries are ongoing, however, at this stage we consider risk to the public as low,” he said.

He added that police had been working closely with the Department of Education and the Education Authority to provide reassurance to affected schools.

Police urged anyone who noticed anything suspicious to contact them on 101, or 999 in an emergency.

Education Minister Paul Givan also condemned the actions of those responsible, saying the emails had sought to disrupt the education system.

He acknowledged the distress caused to pupils, parents, school leaders and staff, as well as the difficult decisions faced by schools, some of which temporarily closed.

Mr Givan thanked school communities and police for their cooperation and professionalism, confirming that the PSNI had not identified anything untoward following its checks.

The Education Authority said it strongly condemned the incident and the unnecessary concern and disruption caused to pupils, families and wider school communities.

It confirmed that it had worked closely with police throughout the incident, communicating updates to schools and providing support and reassurance.

Meanwhile, the school leaders’ union NAHT has called for a review of how information is communicated to schools during serious incidents, warning that some principals had been left trying to reconcile differing and, at times, contradictory advice from multiple agencies.

Rob Kelsall, assistant general secretary of the union, said every pupil, member of staff and family had the right to expect schools to be safe places to learn and work.

He praised school leaders and staff for their professionalism, calmness and judgement but said they should not be left carrying the responsibility for real-time safety decisions without clear support from the agencies responsible.

“When schools face threats of this nature, they need clear, consistent and coordinated communication from the relevant authorities,” he said.

Mr Kelsall said NAHT Belfast had raised its concerns directly with the Education Minister and had been liaising with the PSNI to support members.

The union is calling for a joined-up review to ensure advice is timely, consistent and aligned when schools face threats of this nature.

“The safety and wellbeing of pupils, staff and the wider school community must remain the overriding priority,” he said.

“Schools deserve better than conflicting advice when dealing with situations of this seriousness.”