Operation Elveden: Two police officers and a journalist arrested

Sarah Shaffi Thursday, January 17, 2013
10:21 AM

Two serving police officers and a journalist were arrested this morning as part of an investigation into inappropriate payments to police and public officials.

The men were taken into custody at around 6am by officers from Operation Elveden, the name given to the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) probe.

A 39-year-old man, a journalist, was arrested in Hertfordshire on suspicion of conspiracy to corrupt and suspected conspiracy to cause misconduct in a public office, both contrary to the Criminal Law Act 1977. He is being interviewed at a police station in north London.

A 47-year-old man, a serving police officer in the MPS Specialist Operations command, was arrested in Surrey on suspected misconduct in a public office, contrary to common law and suspected corruption contrary to the Prevention of Corruption Act 1906. He will be interviewed at a Surrey police station.

A 30-year-old man, a serving police officer in the MPS Specialist Crime and Operations command was arrested in Surrey on suspected misconduct in a public office, contrary to common law and suspected corruption contrary to the Prevention of Corruption Act 1906. He is being interviewed at a south London police station.

A number of searches are being carried out.

Scotland Yard said today’s arrests were the result of information provided to police by News Corporation’s Management and Standards Committee.

They relate to suspected payments to police officers and are not about seeking journalists to reveal confidential sources in relation to information that has been obtained legitimately.

News Corporation owned the now-defunct News of the World.

Operation Elveden is running in conjunction with Operation Weeting, the MPS phone-hacking inquiry.