"and i will spread rumours that it was a magical attack -- to shake Simon."
Looks like I need to brew some powerful Make-Skoe-Smell-Like-Skunk potions...err..no!
I would say the population is sufficiently educated to understand that magic does not exist in reality. The rumors will shake no-one but the perpetrators of the attack and make them seem like superstitious (insert word of liking here). It will arouse the populace to want to do something about the attacking fanatics for the sake of national security!
Note: The Department of Magic, Magical Creatures, and Mythology is more of a cultural institution than whatever Skoe has in mind. Rather than a gathering place of wand wielding nut cases, it is a place of literary intellectuals who gather to write stories and epic poems..for the purpose of the state. All magic and magical creatures exist only within the realities of the STORIES.
/me goes to write a story of good vs evil, light vs darkness, with Fokker as the light, and Skoe as the demon king
Brother Simon, Keeper of Ages, Defender of Faith.
~ ☭ Fokker