Holocaust email is a hoax

An email that claims that teaching of the Holocaust is to be phased out in UK schools is a hoax, the government has said.

The email has been circulating on the web this week and has even been spotted on some social-networking websites.

Part of the email reads: "Recently this week, UK removed The Holocaust from its school curriculum because it "offended" the Moslem population which claims it never occurred."

However, the Schools Secretary, Ed Balls has written to every embassy in the UK to insist that the email is entirely without truth.

"The Holocaust was one of the most horrific and profound events in world history and I want every young person to have an understanding of it," said Balls.

Security firm Sophos added to the chorus of disapproval against the perpetrators of the rumour.

"It is simply not true that UK schools are banned from teaching about the Holocaust, and anyone forwarding messages like these is unwittingly feeding an urban legend," said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant for Sophos.

"We have seen many reports of this chain letter and it's clear that this message is not just propagating via traditional email but also via social-networking websites like Facebook where people forward nonsense messages to all of their friends without necessarily engaging their brains," Cluley continued.

www.sophos.com