A serving member of the armed forces was arrested along with his wife today by British Police in connection with an investigation related to phone-hacking at media baron Rupert Murdoch’s now-defunct News of the World tabloid.
The man, 42, and the woman, 32, were arrested by the Scotland Yard as part of ‘Operation Elveden’ which is investigating allegations of inappropriate payments to Police and Public Officials by news organisations for information to be used in stories.
The man was arrested on suspicion of corruption and misconduct in a public office, while the woman was held on suspicion of conspiracy to commit corruption and misconduct in a public office.
Operation Elveden is being conducted in conjunction with Operation Weeting, the Scotland Yard inquiry into the phone-hacking of voicemail boxes.
Police said the woman was arrested at her home address in Chertsey, while her husband, who was described as a serving member of the armed forces, was arrested at an address in Camberley.
The two were being interviewed at a police station in Surrey.
The Police said, “Today’s arrests are the result of information provided to police by News Corporation’s Management Standards Committee.
“They relate to suspected payments to a public official and are not about seeking journalists to reveal confidential sources in relation to information that has been obtained legitimately”.