Parents ‘petrified’ after malicious emails sent to schools in North West
An investigation is under way after malicious emails were sent to a number of schools in the North West, police have said.
Both Cheshire Police and Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said they were looking into the messages.
A parent with a child at one of the schools affected said she’d been “petrified” when she heard the news.
Speaking to Sky News’ Katerina Vittozzi, the parent – who asked not to be named – said: “I always thought it was much safer when the children were in school. It just reminded me of incidents in schools in America.”
The mum said she’d first heard the news via a parents’ WhatsApp group.
She later received an email from her child’s school detailing what had happened, and that police were now involved.
“It may not be anything,” she said, “it might be just some person who’s pulling a prank but it’s so scary and all I could think about was when can I get to school and pick my child up.”
“I also can’t stop thinking – who would have done this? What is the purpose of this?”
Has your school been affected? Email us at news@skynews.com.
Lache Primary School, in Chester, initially notified parents on its Facebook page that they would be unable to pick up their children after a message had been received.
In a statement, it said: “We are aware that parents have arrived outside school.
“To repeat, we cannot let any children out or any parents in. As we have stated, this is a precautionary measure following an unpleasant email that has been sent to a number of schools in Cheshire, Liverpool and Manchester.
“There is not a threat on site. We have locked down the school to ensure that everyone is safe. Which they are.
“The police are dealing with the situation and are very happy with the measures that we have in place.”
It later changed that advice, saying the email was “believed to be a malicious hoax” and children would be allowed to leave by year group.
Blacon High School in Chester
Blacon High School, also in Chester, said it had put additional measures in place after receiving the email, but added: “For reassurance, Blacon High School is not currently in lockdown.”
In a statement, Cheshire Police said it was “aware of an email which had been sent to a number of schools in Chester and Ellesmere Port which made threats to pupils and staff”.
It added: “An investigation has been launched and officers have been attending schools to provide reassurance.”
Detective Chief Inspector Justin Hancock said: “We would like to reassure parents that this is believed to be malicious and we are doing everything we can to locate the person responsible for these emails.”
GMP said it was looking into “reports of malicious communications being sent to schools across the city of Manchester”.
It added: “The reports are currently being investigated to ensure the safety of schools and local communities.”
Chief Inspector Chris Boyd said: “We take reports of this nature very seriously and whilst we have not advised any schools to close, our officers will nevertheless be stepping up their high-visibility presence around schools at the end of the day today to provide reassurance to them and the wider public.”
UK
MasterChef’s Gregg Wallace steps down as Kirsty Wark among 13 who claim he made inappropriate sexual jokes
MasterChef host Gregg Wallace has stepped down over allegations he made a series of inappropriate sexual comments on a range of programmes over 17 years.
Broadcaster Kirsty Wark is among 13 people who have made claims, with Wallace being investigated by MasterChef’s production company Banijay UK.
In an interview with the BBC, the Newsnight presenter, who was a celebrity contestant on MasterChef in 2011, claimed Wallace used “sexualised language”.
“There were two occasions in particular where he used sexualised language in front of a number of people and it wasn’t as if it was anyone engaged with this,” Wark said.
“It was completely one-way traffic. I think people were uncomfortable and something that I really didn’t expect to happen.”
Sky News has contacted Wallace’s representative for comment.
Kirsty Wark. File pic: PA
‘Fully cooperating’
Banijay UK said the complaints were made to the BBC this week by “individuals in relation to historical allegations of misconduct while working with Gregg Wallace on one of our shows”.
The company said the 60-year-old, who has been a co-presenter and judge of the popular cooking show since 2005, was “committed to fully cooperating throughout the process”.
“Whilst these complainants have not raised the allegations directly with our show producers or parent company Banijay UK, we feel that it is appropriate to conduct an immediate, external review to fully and impartially investigate,” the company said.
“While this review is under way, Gregg Wallace will be stepping away from his role on MasterChef and is committed to fully co-operating throughout the process.
“Banijay UK’s duty of care to staff is always a priority and our expectations regarding behaviour are made clear to both cast and crew on all productions, with multiple ways of raising concerns, including anonymously, clearly promoted on set.
“Whilst these are historical allegations, incidences brought to our attention where these expectations are not met, are thoroughly investigated and addressed appropriately.”
A BBC spokesman said: “We take any issues that are raised with us seriously and we have robust processes in place to deal with them.
“We are always clear that any behaviour which falls below the standards expected by the BBC will not be tolerated.
“Where an individual is contracted directly by an external production company we share any complaints or concerns with that company and we will always support them when addressing them.”
Previous investigation
Last month, Wallace responded to reports that a previous BBC review had found he could continue working at the corporation following reports of an alleged incident in 2018 when he appeared on Impossible Celebrities.
Wallace said those claims had been investigated “promptly” at the time and said he had not said “anything sexual” while appearing on the game show more than half a decade ago.
In an Instagram post following an article in The Sun newspaper, he wrote: “The story that’s hitting the newspapers was investigated promptly when it happened six years ago by the BBC.
“And the outcome of that was that I hadn’t said anything sexual. I’ll need to repeat this again. I didn’t say anything sexual.”
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Alongside MasterChef, Wallace presented Inside The Factory for BBC Two from 2015.
Wallace and Anne-Marie Sterpini in 2014. Pic: PA
Wallace has featured on various BBC shows over the years, including Saturday Kitchen, Eat Well For Less, Supermarket Secrets, Celebrity MasterChef and MasterChef: The Professionals, as well as being a Strictly Come Dancing contestant in 2014.
He was made an MBE for services to food and charity last year.
Recorded episodes of MasterChef: The Professionals featuring Wallace will be transmitted as planned, the PA news agency understands.
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