Journalist held in Elveden payment probe

A journalist has been arrested as part of the police probe into claims of corrupt payments to public officials.

The 38-year-old woman is the 53rd person held under Operation Elveden which is running alongside Scotland Yard's phone hacking investigation.

She was held at her home in Sussex at 6.30am on suspicion of conspiracy to corrupt and suspicion of conspiracy to cause misconduct in a public office, police said.

The reporter was bailed to return to a Sussex police station in March.

Her arrest came on the back of information provided to police by News Corporation's management standards committee, which was set up in the wake of the phone-hacking scandal.

A Scotland Yard spokesman said: "The 38-year-old woman, a journalist, was arrested at her home at approximately 6.30am on suspicion of conspiracy to corrupt contrary to the Criminal Law Act 1977 and suspicion of conspiracy to cause misconduct in a public office contrary to the Criminal Law Act 1977.

"She was later bailed to return to a Sussex police station."

Operation Elveden is being run in tandem with Operation Tuleta, an investigation into privacy breaches including the alleged hacking of computers and stolen mobile phones, and Operation Weeting which is looking at alleged phone hacking.

PA