'Sun' tabloid staff among 8 arrested in UK phone-hacking probe

Eight people, including five employees of The Sun tabloid, were arrested in London on Saturday for alleged bribes paid to police and defence officials, under an operation instituted in the wake of the UK phone-hacking scandal at the News of the World.

A serving police officer, a member of Britain's armed forces, an employee of the Ministry of Defence and five employees of The Sun tabloid are among eight people arrested under Operation Elveden, which is probing corrupt payments to police and public officials for information to be used in sensational news stories.

The operation is among many being conducted at various levels into unethical news-gathering practices in the British news media.

Apart from the five employees of the The Sun, Scotland Yard said those arrested included a 39-year-old serving officer with the Surrey police, a 39-year-old employee of the Ministry of Defence and a 36-year-old member of the armed forces.

All eight were arrested under the Prevention of Corruption Act 1906. They were being questioned at various police stations, Scotland Yard said.

A statement from News Corporation confirmed that five employees of The Sun were among those arrested.

The police officer, member of the armed forces and the Ministry of Defence employee were arrested on suspicion of corruption, misconduct in a public office and conspiracy in relation to both these offences.

"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," Scotland Yard said.    

Scotland Yard said today's operation "is the result of information provided to police by News Corporation's Management Standards Committee."

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

It said that the remit of Operation Elveden has widened to include the investigation of evidence uncovered in relation to suspected corruption involving public officials who are not police officers.

The operation is being run in conjunction with Operation Weeting, the inquiry into the phone-hacking of voicemail boxes.

It is part of a series of police probe sparked by Britain's tabloid phone hacking scandal.