Hackers target government sites in extradition protest

A group of hackers have claimed responsibility for taking down the home office website apparently in protest against government extradition and surveillance policies.

Internet users were unable to fully access the department’s homepage for several hours last night, with a message on the site saying the page was currently unavailable “due to a high volume of traffic”.

One message on Twitter claiming to be from Anonymous, a loosely organised group of hackers, said the action was “for your draconian surveillance proposals”, while another said it was in protest at the UK’s controversial extradition treaty with the US.