Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Covid: Stickers branding masks ‘child abuse’ appear at Glenrothes school

The stickers appeared outside St Paul's RC Primary School

Stickers likening the use of face masks to child abuse have appeared outside a school in Glenrothes.

The stickers, which were placed on a sign at St Paul’s RC Primary School, also question the effectiveness of masks in the fight against coronavirus.

They direct people to a group who call themselves the “White Rose”,  who proclaim they are “taking the immense power of meme warfare to the streets, via the medium of stickers”.

Elements of the group appear to exist in Dundee and Fife, with activists encouraged to post materials challenging public health initiatives in their local area.

Organised on the secure messaging app Telegram, the group has 111 members in the Fife area.

One sticker posted outside the school questions the effectiveness of masks

Similar stickers have appeared across the UK, including in Manchester, which purport to be from the same organisation.

Councillor Julie Ford, who represents Glenrothes West and Kinglassie, says that while people are entitled to their opinions, defacing public property is not the right way to express them.

She said: “The past 18 months have been really tough for everyone – mentally, emotionally, and maybe even physically. Covid-19 is a new virus that scientists are still learning about.

Masks ‘respectful to those who’ve lost their lives’

“Do I like wearing a mask? No, not particularly. I feel restricted and never fully at ease when I have it on.

“But I know that the science shows that it provides protection when we’re mixing closely with other people, especially inside.

“I think it’s a very small price to pay right now, and I think it’s also respectful to those who have lost their lives to Covid-19, but also to the many businesses that have been badly damaged by the economic affect.

St Paul’s RC Primary School in Glenrothes. Photo: Google Street View

“People are entitled to their own opinions – even if it does go against science – but I don’t think defacing public property is the way to encourage proper engagement.”

The Times of Israel has suggested the group behind the stickers took its name from the Weiße Rose (White Rose) – an organisation set up in Germany in the 1940s to provide non-violent resistance to the Nazis.

The legacy of a young woman connected to the group, who was executed during the war, was also co-opted by the German anti-coronavirus lockdown movement.

Government guidance on masks in schools

Current Scottish Government health guidance asks that all adults in schools wear a mask if they cannot be more than two metres from others, including children.

In secondary schools, teachers and pupils are asked to wear masks unless they are exempt.

Kirstie Freeman, service manager (safer communities) at Fife Council, said: “We aim to remove any material that could cause offence as soon as possible after it is reported to us.

“We rely on the public coming forward and reporting this kind of activity to us. You can do this online or phone 03451 55 00 22.”

It comes after anti-vaccine banners appeared in Glenrothes earlier this month – with one councillor branding the messages “very dangerous”.