Launched in 2023, the alerts warn people of a danger to life in their area.
Testing has seen mobile phones play siren-like sounds with messages displaying on screens.
Now, research from the PA news agency has uncovered when the alerts were almost sent for real.
The most notable of these was the Southport riots in the summer of 2024.
Widespread unrest erupted following the murder of three young girls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in July of that year.
After the killings, and following online rumours that the perpetrator was a small boat migrant, violent rioting broke out in several locations.
Mosques, community centres, libraries and hotels housing asylum seekers were all targeted.
A recent government analysis found the situation was "largely instigated" by far-right groups.
British-born Axel Rudakubana later admitted to the murders.
According to the information obtained by PA through a Freedom of Information request, the situations "represent 'near misses' where the Cabinet Office has considered the use of the Emergency Alerts capability, which was ultimately stood down".
Another time, the government considered sending every phone in the UK a message was earlier in 2026.
It was thought debris from the Chinese Zhuque-3 space rocket could land on Britain after re-entering the atmosphere.
This was wide of the mark, as the wreckage ended up hitting the water more than 1,000 miles south of New Zealand, near the Antarctic.
The government said they considered the alert "due to the size of the debris, which was larger than usual".
Back in May 2024, an outbreak of the parasite cryptosporidium contaminated tens of thousands of people's drinking water in Devon, with some left requiring hospital treatment.
The government considered using the emergency alert to tell residents to boil water before using it.
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In September 2025, there were concerns that the Kilroot gas power station in Northern Ireland might have to be shut off as it was nearing its yearly running limit.
Having been told power shortages might be on the cards, the Cabinet Office looked into warning people via their mobiles - but decided against it.
Alerts were also considered for severe weather during Storm Babet in 2025, and during rain and wind in Scotland and the North East of England in 2023.
A government spokesperson said: "As the public rightly expects, the government actively considers how to respond to a wide range of potential events.
"The emergency alerts system is a vital public safety tool designed to be used sparingly. Its activation threshold is very high and strictly reserved for threats to life."
Nancy Guthrie, 84, was last seen at her Arizona home on 31 January and was reported missing the following day.
Officials say her blood was found on the front porch. Purported ransom notes were sent to news outlets, but deadlines for paying have passed.
Authorities believe she was kidnapped or abducted. During the investigation, the FBI released surveillance videos showing a masked man on the porch that night.
Today co-anchor Ms Guthrie, 54, has acknowledged she's a changed person since her mother's disappearance and that it's difficult to press ahead without knowing what happened to her.
Despite a search that involved thousands of federal and local officers and volunteers, there has been no sign of the mother-of-three since she went missing.
In a video message released by her New York church on Easter Sunday, Ms Guthrie said she felt "moments of deep disappointment with God, the feeling of utter abandonment".
But she said the resurrection is not fully celebrated "if we do not acknowledge the feelings of loss, pain, and yes, death".
"Perhaps this is too dark a message to share on Easter morning, but I have long believed that we miss out on fully celebrating resurrection if we do not acknowledge the feelings of loss, pain and, yes, death," she said.
"It is the darkness that makes this morning's light so magnificent, so blindingly beautiful."
In her closing message, she said: "I see a bright vision of the day when heaven and Earth pass away because they are one, on Earth as it is in heaven.
"When we celebrate today, this is what we celebrate, and I celebrate, too. I still believe. And so I say with conviction, 'Happy Easter.'"
Announcing her return to NBC's flagship morning show, Ms Guthrie said she was unsure whether she'll feel like she still belongs.
"It's hard to imagine doing it because it's such a place of joy and lightness," she said just over a week ago on Today in her first interview since her mother's disappearance.
"I can't come back and try to be something that I'm not. But I can't not come back because it's my family."
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Ms Guthrie, one of US morning television's most recognisable faces, has been a co-anchor on Today since 2012.
There had been a great deal of speculation about whether she would return to the show.
"I want to smile, and when I do it will be real," she told broadcaster Hoda Kotb, who returned to Today to fill in for Ms Guthrie while she concentrated on the search.
"Being there is joyful, and when it's not I'll say so."
Nancy Guthrie made occasional appearances on Today over the years, once taking part in a cooking demonstration and surprising her daughter on set.
When Savannah Guthrie returned to her hometown of Tucson last year for a segment recorded for the show, the pair attended one of their favourite restaurants and talked about their love of Arizona.
The Guthrie family has offered a $1m (£754,000) reward for information leading to the return of their mother.
The FBI and the Pima County Sheriff's Department both said late last week that they had no updates.
Early on, some media outlets reported receiving ransom messages linked to the case.
Ms Guthrie said she and her siblings responded to two they believed to be real and offered to pay.
Ms Guthrie said her celebrity status might be the reason her mother was taken, but that possibility was "too much to bear".
He rang emergency services in Phoenix because his injuries meant he couldn't continue his descent from Lookout Mountain.
Rescue teams dispatched a helicopter and winched him to safety, before transferring him to an ambulance to take him to hospital.
Officials say he is fighting for his life.
Phoenix Fire Department has urged hikers to avoid disturbing hives, wear light-coloured clothing, and not to use scented products while outdoors.
Anyone who encounters a swarm is advised to run away quickly while protecting their head and face - taking extra care to cover their mouth.
Dr Frank Lovecchio, a professor at Arizona State University, has said the venom from repeated bee stings effectively "crushes your muscle".
He told FOX 10 that bees in Arizona are highly aggressive - and it is not uncommon for someone to be stung hundreds of times in a single incident.
"It's always about protecting the queen bee, protecting the hive," he said.
"And it sends signals that the other bees come over and kind of attack you."
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An unusually warm winter has caused bee activity to rise in Arizona, and this is the latest in a long line of incidents.
Last week, five people were stung, with one taken to hospital, after a swarm disrupted a women's lacrosse game at a university campus in Tempe.
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The US rapper has previously been condemned over his antisemitic remarks.
The 48-year-old musician - who has not performed in the UK since he headlined Glastonbury in 2015 - is set to top the bill for all three nights of the festival in London's Finsbury Park in July.
A Pepsi spokesperson said: "Pepsi has decided to withdraw its sponsorship of Wireless Festival."
Diageo, owner of Johnnie Walker and Captain Morgan, said on Sunday evening it had also withdrawn.
A spokesperson said: "We have informed the organisers of our concerns and as it stands, Diageo will not sponsor the 2026 Wireless festival."
Sky News has approached festival organisers for a response.
In the time since he last performed on UK soil, West has drawn criticism for antisemitic X posts, a Super Bowl advert directing people to a swastika T-shirt and a song referencing Hitler.
Sir Keir said it was "deeply concerning" that West has been booked "despite his previous antisemitic remarks and celebration of Nazism".
"Antisemitism in any form is abhorrent and must be confronted clearly and firmly wherever it appears. Everyone has a responsibility to ensure Britain is a place where Jewish people feel safe and secure," the prime minister said.
West, also known as Ye, has been barred from X over antisemitism on multiple occasions.
In January, West took out a full-page advert in the Wall Street Journal to apologise, titled: "To Those I've Hurt."
"I am not a Nazi or an antisemite," it said. "I love Jewish people."
West attributed his previous outbursts to his bipolar-1 disorder, writing: "In early 2025, I fell into a four-month-long manic episode of psychotic, paranoid and impulsive behaviour that destroyed my life.
"I lost touch with reality. Things got worse the longer I ignored the problem. I said and did things I deeply regret."
The rapper also apologised to the black community, saying he had let it down.
West previously lost his deal with Adidas following a post on his social media in 2022, in which he shared an image of a swastika inside a Star of David.
Adidas, which had worked with the rapper on his Yeezy trainers, subsequently donated more than $150m (£117m) to anti-hate groups.
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Shortly afterwards, he drew criticism over a TV advert that directed people to a website selling a swastika t-shirt and released a song titled Heil Hitler.
Sir Ed Davey, the leader of the Liberal Democrats, last week called for the government to ban West from entering the UK.
He said Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood should "ban him from coming to this country - we've got to take antisemitism more seriously".
Sky News understands the Home Office is yet to receive an application for West to enter the UK.