UK parliament under cyberattack

Reports in British media say that hackers were selling passwords for MPs online

LONDON: British lawmakers on Saturday said they were unable to access their e-mail accounts remotely as parliament's security team battled against a cyberattack.

Liberal Democrat lawmaker Chris Rennard tweeted that there was a "cyber security attack on Westminster; Parliamentary e-mails may not work remotely."

Cyber security attack on Westminster Parliamentary e.mails may not work remotely Text urgent messages @LibDemLords @LabourLordsUK @Torypeers

— Chris Rennard 🔶💙🇺🇦 (@LordRennard) June 24, 2017

A House of Commons spokesperson confirmed that "the Houses of Parliament have discovered unauthorised attempts to access parliamentary user accounts.



"We have systems in place to protect member and staff accounts and are taking the necessary steps to protect our systems," it added.

The threat follows reports in British media, including the Times, that hackers were selling passwords for MPs online.