Summary
Assessed risk: LOW. Police are treating the emails as a hoax. No device has been reported found.
Before controls: High, because of R1 (a real device). After controls: LOW.
On Monday 19 October 2026, hoax bomb threat emails reached hundreds of schools in Scotland and Northern Ireland, and others in Hungary, Italy and Serbia. Police Scotland is treating the messages as a hoax and is investigating the source. On 20 October it added that there is “nothing to suggest any threat to the public”. The PSNI said the email originated outside the UK and that the risk to the public is low.
No device has been reported found at any school in the sources reviewed, and OTAS Live Ltd assesses the overall residual risk as LOW. The main remaining risks are repeat hoaxes, disruption, distress and rumour.
No public statement lists which Glasgow schools received the email, and this brief does not say whether any named school did. Families should rely on their child’s school or Glasgow City Council for that information.
What to do
Parents and carers
- Rely on official updates from the school, Glasgow City Council and Police Scotland.
- Do not share the email, screenshots or rumours.
- Received a similar message? Do not reply or forward it. Report it on 101, or 999 in an emergency.
- Do not collect your child unless the school asks you to.
- Talk to your child calmly. Remind older children that a hoax threat is a crime.
Schools
- Do not reply to, forward or delete the email. Keep it and the logs for the police.
- Call 999, then tell the council. Complete the bomb threat checklist.
- Do not evacuate automatically. Use the credibility questions.
- Suspicious item: do not touch it. Evacuate away from it and call 999.
- Name a decision-maker and a deputy. Release pupils only to known adults.
Glasgow City Council, to consider
- Publish one statement with the number of schools affected.
- Give head teachers written decision support, aligned with Police Scotland advice.
- Use one update route for schools and one for families.
- Preserve emails and logs centrally for the police. Offer translated templates.
- Prepare for the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025 (Martyn's Law), whose main duties are expected in spring 2027.
Working with Police Scotland
- Report each threat on 999 with the wording, sender address and time.
- Ask for advice on credibility without delaying a decision that is needed.
- Report copycat messages on 101, or 999 if there is an immediate risk.
- Agree public messages with the police. Do not publish threat details.
- Use common language: JESIP M/ETHANE and the Joint Decision Model.
These are OTAS Live Ltd’s own recommendations. They support, and do not replace, council procedures and Police Scotland advice.
The school and police actions follow ProtectUK guidance: Bomb threats and the bomb threat checklist. Always follow police advice on the day.
Download the brief
The brief is a short public summary of the OTAS Live assessment.
- The brief: PDF, 5 pages, 220 KB
References 1 to 44 in the brief are listed in full in the OTAS-TA-001 v1.1 assessment, which is not published online. The full list is available on request from kris@otas.live.
Corrections to published Insights articles are listed in our corrections log.