Some tweets called for the release of drill rap artist Digga D
The Metropolitan Police’s website has been hit by hackers who posted a series of bizarre messages.
A series of tweets were also sent from the force’s verified account, which has more than a million followers, including one about rapper Digga D.
A stream of unusual emails were also sent from the force’s press bureau at about 23:30 BST on Friday.
Scotland Yard confirmed that its website had “been subject to unauthorised access”.
The force said it used an online provider called MyNewsDesk to issue news releases and said “unauthorised messages” appeared on its website, Twitter account and in emails sent to subscribers.
The Met’s account has more than a million followers
The tweets, which have subsequently been deleted, contained offensive language and mentioned the names of several people.
The posts also linked to press releases regarding the rapper and an apparent missing child.
BBC home affairs producer Daniel De Simone tweeted that the hack was a “serious issue” and added: “The press and public relies on comms from the Met during emergencies such as terror attacks.”
A Met spokesman said the force was working to establish exactly what happened.
“We have begun making changes to our access arrangements to MyNewsDesk,” he added.
“At this stage, we are confident the only security issue relates to access to our MyNewsDesk account.”
