Bomb threat at 6,000 schools across Italy. Meloni calls a meeting. Valditara: ‘A strategy, not a mythomaniac’. Similar threats in Scotland and the UK

The email reporting a bomb threat at schools also contains a threat against the Prime Minister. ‘We have planted a bomb in the engine of your Prime Minister’s car,’ writes the sender, identified as Mikhail Andropov, leader of the Vilayat of Misoginistan.

“Let’s not give in to alarmism, because it is clear from the content of the email that the actual risk is virtually non-existent; in all likelihood, this is a cyberattack rather than a real threat, but the strategy must be devised in consultation with the intelligence services.” This was stated by the Minister for Education, Giuseppe Valditara, on La 7. “We will hold a meeting with the other ministers, decide on a strategy and then stick to it,” he added. “But I would like to reassure everyone: the high number of schools involved demonstrates how unreliable this is.”

The frequency and variety of false bomb threats – “which do not only affect schools, but also transport and other sectors – suggest a strategy rather than the actions of a single mythomaniac”. This was stated by the Minister for Education, Giuseppe Valditara, at a press conference in Brussels. “The security services are investigating, and the judicial authorities will then take over. Obviously, at this stage, it could be anything: it could be hoaxers, or it could be part of a strategy,” he observed. “It will be the forces professionally tasked with carrying out this work who will have to provide us with information, and then the judicial authorities, who are already investigating.”

‘It is part of a strategy that is now clear: that of sowing terror or causing concern – which is all too easy. Any one of us could, with the means and tools at our disposal, send an email to a school, a nursery or an airline saying there is a bomb.’ Defence Minister Guido Crosetto made these remarks regarding the bomb threats received at various schools in Rome in the last few minutes, on the sidelines of the *Il Sole 24 Ore* event: ‘The Changing Country’, warning that ‘we will see more and more of this, because, unfortunately, the mother of fools is always pregnant’.

“Any statement made in the heat of the moment risks being ill-timed and inappropriate. It is premature to speak of a coordinated operation.” This was stated by the Minister of the Interior, Matteo Piantedosi, in Orvieto, whilst commenting on the wave of bomb threats that has affected numerous Italian schools. “The investigators working on the case will have to comment on the possibility of a coordinated campaign,” added the minister, urging caution regarding possible responsibilities. Piantedosi went on to observe that “there is a string of incidents which, at the very least in the form of copycat behaviour, share the common feature of attempting to overwhelm the public system through alerts which, fortunately, often turn out to be unfounded”. The statements come after threats were sent by email this morning to hundreds of Italian schools, prompting precautionary evacuations and checks by the police.

It is not just in Italia. A new wave of bomb threats has hit numerous schools across Europe, with reports of threats via email and, in some cases, the evacuation of school buildings. Whilst at least 300 schools have been affected in Italia, similar incidents have also been recorded in Scotland and Northern Ireland, where the police have launched investigations into the origin of the messages. This is the latest in a series of threats that, in recent weeks, have also affected other European countries, including Serbia and Hungary.

In Northern Ireland, the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) confirmed today that it had received reports of numerous schools receiving threatening emails. The police announced that they were launching urgent investigations, in collaboration with the schools concerned. Among the buildings evacuated was Victoria Primary School in Newtownards, whilst lessons continued at other schools following reassurances from the police.

Today’s spate of incidents bears similarities to what happened on 19 October, when up to 300 schools in Northern Ireland received almost identical threatening messages, apparently originating from abroad. On that occasion, the authorities ruled out any real danger, classifying the incidents as false alarms. Similar reports emerged around the same time in Scotland and, in the days that followed, also in Hungary and Serbia, with threats directed at schools in Budapest and Belgrade.

These incidents form part of a wider European context that has also been marked by recent threats to air traffic. Between 5 and 6 November, numerous flights across various European countries were affected by bomb threats, whilst in Ireland, a number of radio stations and news organisations were forced to evacuate their premises.