Two bailed in corrupt payments probe

The 29-year-old serving officer with Sussex Police was arrested at his home while a 37-year-old journalist was detained at his home in north London yesterday morning.

They bring the number of arrests under the Metropolitan Police’s Operation Elveden, which is investigating allegations of inappropriate payments to police and public officials, to 43.

Operation Elveden is being supervised by the Independent Police Complaints Commission and is running in conjunction with Operation Weeting, the official inquiry into telephone hacking by newspaper employees.

The journalist was held at about 6am on suspicion of conspiracy to corrupt and conspiracy to cause misconduct in a public office. He was taken to a north London police station and later released on bail until November.

The police officer was held at about the same time on suspicion of conspiracy to corrupt, conspiracy to cause misconduct in a public office, and misconduct in a public office.

He was taken to a police station in south London and will also answer bail in November.

A Yard spokesman 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 police officer and are not about seeking journalists to reveal confidential sources in relation to information that has been obtained legitimately.”

The latest arrests came as the Church of England said it had sold its shares in News Corporation over concerns about the company’s response to the phone-hacking scandal.

It sold its total shareholding for £1.9m following advice from its Ethical Investment Advisory Group (EIAG), the Church said.