Sun executives and Police Office arrested over illegal police payments

Detectives on Saturday searched the offices of Rupert Murdoch's The Sun and arrested four journalists and a policeman in a widening probe into the bribing of police for information.

The development finally drags Britain's biggest-selling newspaper into the turmoil at Murdoch's empire, after its stablemate the News of the World was shut down in disgrace in July amid a scandal over phone hacking.

Four journalists and a policeman in a
widening probe into the bribing
of police for information.

Police said they made the arrests after information was provided to police by Murdoch's US-based News Corporation -- in what commentators said was a clear effort by the company to detoxify the brand.

The BBC and the Guardian newspaper named the arrested Sun journalists as former deputy editor Fergus Shanahan, former managing editor Graham Dudman, current crime editor Mike Sullivan and current head of news Chris Pharo.

In an email to staff, Tom Mockridge, the chief executive of Murdoch's British subsidiary News International, said Saturday that the company had provided legal support to the arrested men.

"Despite this very difficult news, we are determined that News International will emerge a stronger and more trusted organisation," Mockridge wrote in the email, a copy of which was obtained by The Guardian.

"We must all support Dominic (Mohan, the editor of The Sun) who will be leading his staff to deliver, as always, a great paper for Monday and going forward."

A 29-year-old from the force's
Territorial Policing command was arrested .

Scotland Yard said in a statement that in dawn raids it had arrested two men aged 49 and 57 at their homes in Essex, and a man aged 48 at his home in London.

A 42-year-old man was later arrested after attending a police station.

They were held on suspicion of corruption, aiding and abetting misconduct in a public office and conspiracy in relation to both these offences.

A 29-year-old from the force's Territorial Policing command was arrested at the London police station where he works on suspicion of corruption, misconduct in a public office and conspiracy.

"The home addresses of those arrested are currently being searched and officers are also carrying out a number of searches at the offices of News International in Wapping, East London," a police statement said.

"Today's operation is the result of information provided to police by News Corporation's Management and Standards Committee.

"It relates to suspected payments to police officers and is not about seeking journalists to reveal confidential sources in relation to information that has been obtained legitimately."

News Corp. confirmed that the other four men arrested either worked or used to work at The Sun.

It said it had set up the committee after the phone-hacking scandal "to undertake a review of all News International titles, regardless of cost, and to proactively cooperate with law enforcement and other authorities if potentially relevant information arose at those titles."

"As a result of that review, which is ongoing, the (committee) provided information to the Elveden investigation which led to today's arrests."

Thirteen people have now been arrested under Operation Elveden, the police investigation into allegations that journalists paid officers for information.

It was sparked by concerns about the working practices of the British press after the News of the World scandal and runs alongside Operation Weeting, the probe into phone hacking under which 17 arrests have so far been made.

The scandal at the News of the World erupted in July when it emerged that journalists had listened to the voicemails not just of celebrities and politicians but also a murdered schoolgirl, Milly Dowler.

Amid public outrage, Murdoch closed down 168-year-old weekly.

The scandal also prompted Prime Minister David Cameron to order a wide-ranging inquiry into the practices and ethics of the press, which began hearings at the end of last year.

The Sun has daily sales of more than 2.5 million. It is known for its racy celebrity-driven content and colourful headlines, but also for self-proclaimed influence with the electorate.

Ahead of elections in 2010 it dropped its support for British prime minister Gordon Brown's Labour party in favour of Cameron's Conservatives.

Current Sun editor Mohan told the phone-hacking inquiry earlier this month that he had no knowledge of phone-hacking at the paper, adding that the daily could be a "powerful force for good."

Copyright © 2012 AFP. All rights reserved

LEADERS UNITE ON SCOTS REFERENDUM

David Cameron and Ed Miliband joined forces today in pledging to fight to keep Scotland in the United Kingdom, as Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond told Westminster politicians to "butt out" of the debate.

The leaders of both major Westminster parties called on Mr Salmond's Scottish National Party to engage in talks over the coming weeks to pave the way for a referendum on independence.

Mr Cameron said he "passionately" believed in preserving the Union, and taunted the SNP for seeking to delay a ballot, telling MPs: "Let's have the debate and let's keep our country together."

But Mr Salmond dismissed the UK Government's argument that Scotland's Parliament has no legal power to mount its own referendum on independence.

He will unveil his own proposals before the end of this month for a referendum in the autumn of 2014.

The First Minister's plans, set for publication in the week beginning January 23, look set to put Edinburgh on collision course with London.

Addressing MPs, prime minister David Cameron said he was disappointed at the constitutional dispute over the proposed referendum on Scottish independence (Pic: PA)

Mr Salmond's office said they will include a vote for 16 and 17-year-olds and may offer voters a third "devo-max" option, under which Scotland would stay in the Union but gain greater self-determination on financial issues. Both of these features were ruled out in UK Government proposals put forward by Scotland Secretary Michael Moore.

Mr Moore called on the Scottish administration to work with the UK Government over the coming weeks to agree arrangements for a "clear, legal and decisive" referendum, which could be held within 18 months.

And Mr Cameron's spokesman indicated that this could involve talks between the Prime Minister and Mr Salmond.

The spokesman said he expected negotiations over the referendum - and the independence battle itself - to involve senior politicians from all sides of the debate, including a number of Government ministers.

He did not rule out the possibility that Mr Cameron could appear alongside Mr Miliband to argue the case for the Union, after the Prime Minister said he agreed "100%" with the Labour leader on the benefits of preserving the United Kingdom.

In a rare display of unity at Prime Minister's Questions in the House of Commons, Mr Cameron said: "This is one area where (Mr Miliband) and I are going to be 100% in agreement.

"I passionately believe in the future of our United Kingdom. I passionately believe we are stronger together rather than breaking apart.

"Frankly, I am sad we are even having this debate, because I support the United Kingdom so strongly, but we have to respect the fact that Scotland voted for a separatist party at the Scottish parliamentary elections."

Mr Miliband said: "We on this side of the House believe the United Kingdom benefits the people of Scotland and the people of the rest of the United Kingdom in equal measure.

"We are stronger together and weaker apart."

Mr Cameron said he was "looking forward" to the debate, and mocked the SNP for seeking to delay the poll until 2014, telling MPs: "I sometimes think when I listen to them that it is not a referendum they want, it's a never-endum."

Asked whether the PM would be willing to share a platform with Mr Miliband, Mr Cameron's official spokesman said: "The Prime Minister is keen to make the case for the Union and you saw at Prime Minister's Questions that he is keen to work with the opposition on this."

Mr Salmond said the Prime Minister should "butt out" of an issue for Scottish people and said his intervention had provoked a "huge adverse reaction... to the Thatcheresque idea that Downing Street knows best".

He had "no objection" to Mr Moore's proposals for Westminster to help Holyrood stage a referendum, but said there was "plenty of legal authority" for the Scottish Government to mount its own ballot without assistance from south of the border.

Mr Salmond told BBC Radio Scotland's Good Morning Scotland programme: "The objection, of course, is that the Prime Minister has started to put all sorts of London-based strings on."

He said: "Our conditions are quite clear: this must be a referendum built and run in Scotland, accountable to the Scottish Parliament. It has to be run fairly and transparently, of course, but we won't accept unreasonable conditions placed by London on how Scotland should run the poll."

Mr Salmond's office confirmed the Scottish Government's position that 16 and 17-year-olds on the electoral register in Scotland should be "fully entitled to vote" in any referendum. Asked if voters would be offered a third "devo-max" option, a spokesman said: "We're not for closing down choice."


© Press Association 2012

EX-POLICEMAN HELD IN HACKING PROBE

A former Scotland Yard officer was arrested today over allegations of unauthorised leaks to a journalist.

The 52-year-old man is being questioned on suspicion of misconduct in public office after being detained at his Berkshire home by officers from the Independent Police Complaints Commission.

Evidence was sent to the police watchdog from Scotland Yard detectives investigating corruption surrounding the phone-hacking investigation.

The former officer is being questioned by IPCC investigators at a Thames Valley police station.

A spokeswoman for the watchdog said: "A 52-year-old man, a former Metropolitan Police Service officer, was arrested by the IPCC at his home in Berkshire this morning on suspicion of misconduct in public office and Data Protection Act offences.

"The arrest is the result of information passed to the IPCC by the Metropolitan Police Service team investigating Operation Elveden and relates to the alleged passing of unauthorised information to a journalist."

Nine suspects have now been arrested as part of Operation Elveden, which was launched after officers were handed documents suggesting News International journalists had made payments to officers.

Sir Paul Stephenson, the then Met commissioner, said in July that evidence from the publisher suggested a small number of officers were involved.

Last month, a 52-year-old woman, understood to be a member of the force's specialist operations branch, was arrested on suspicion of receiving illegal payments.

Others questioned as part of the inquiry include former News International chief executive Rebekah Brooks, ex-Downing Street communications chief Andy Coulson, former News of the World managing editor Stuart Kuttner, the paper's former royal editor Clive Goodman, and a 63-year-old man whose identity has not been disclosed.

Mrs Brooks and Mr Coulson are both former editors of the News of the World, which was closed in July at the height of the hacking scandal following revelations that murdered teenager Milly Dowler's phone was involved.

The final total of people whose phones were hacked by the News of the World will be about 800, the force believes.

The scandal has led to the closure of the News of the World after 168 years, prompted a major public inquiry, and forced the resignation of Metropolitan Police commissioner Sir Paul and assistant commissioner John Yates.

The officer has never filled a position within the very top ranks at Scotland Yard, a source close to the investigation said.

©Press Association 2012