British Teen Held Amid Global Hacking Probe

Detectives have arrested an 18-year-old man as part of the investigation into global hacking groups Anonymous and LulzSec.

The alleged hacker, who is said to use the online nickname "Topiary" and present himself as a spokesman for the groups, was held in the Shetland Islands, Scotland Yard said.

Police are also searching a house in Lincolnshire and interviewing a 17-year-old boy under caution in connection with the inquiry. He has not been arrested.

The 18-year-old was detained by officers from the Metropolitan Police.

The swoop was linked to an ongoing investigation into hacking and "distributed denial of service" attacks - where websites are flooded with traffic to make them crash - against international companies and intelligence agencies believed to be carried out by Anonymous and LulzSec.

LulzSec has previously claimed responsibility for hacking attacks on the UK's Serious Organised Crime Agency (Soca), the US Senate, the CIA and The Sun newspaper.

The Twitter user behind the @LulzSec page has declared plans to break into government websites and leak confidential documents.

Ryan Cleary, 19, of Wickford, Essex, was charged last month with five offences under the Criminal Law and Computer Misuse Acts, including an alleged hacking attack against Soca's website.