Around 1,000 schools across Scotland received threatening emails on Wednesday 11 November, Police Scotland has confirmed, as investigators work to establish who was responsible for the messages that caused widespread disruption.

Schools in the Highlands were among those affected.

The latest figure represents a substantial increase on earlier reports that more than 270 Scottish schools had been targeted.

Police Scotland has confirmed that the messages were immediately assessed and are being treated as hoaxes, with no evidence that they presented a credible threat to schools or the wider public.

Assistant Chief Constable Mark Sutherland said:

“Earlier today, around a thousand Scottish schools received a threatening email message.

“These were also sent to schools across the UK.

“These messages were immediately assessed and we are treating them as hoaxes.

“Our enquiries have established that there is nothing to suggest that they represent a credible threat or that there is any wider threat to the public.

“We understand how distressing messages of this nature can be for pupils, parents, carers and school staff, and the concern they can understandably cause.

“Our advice is that there is no requirement to evacuate schools or keep children away from education based solely on the content of the emails.

“They have been sent widely to distribution lists across the UK and Northern Ireland and our assessment remains that they do not represent a credible threat.

“Police Scotland’s Cyber and Fraud Unit is carrying out extensive enquiries to establish the source of the messages, and officers continue to liaise with law enforcement partners across the UK and internationally.”

The police assessment provides reassurance to parents and school staff following a morning in which emergency procedures were activated at a number of schools.

At Nairn Academy, pupils were sent home after the school announced an emergency closure, while other Highland schools assessed the situation and communicated with families.

The incident follows a similar round of threatening messages in October, raising fresh concerns about the disruption caused to children, teachers and parents.

North East Scotland MSP Yi-pei Chou Turvey, whose child was evacuated from a school in Aberdeenshire, has called for those responsible to be identified and held accountable.

The Scottish Government is facing calls to make clear that deliberately disrupting schools through threatening communications is unacceptable.

Police Scotland’s latest advice is that schools do not need to evacuate or keep pupils away from education based solely on the emails received.

Investigations remain ongoing, with specialist officers working alongside law enforcement partners to trace the source of the messages.