The UK police arrested five “senior journalists” from News Corp-owned The Sun and three members of the UK police or public service Feb. 11, the Guardian reported.
The other three arrested people work for the Surrey police, the Ministry of Defence and the armed forces, according to the Guardian.
The journalists were arrested “on suspicion of corruption, aiding and abetting misconduct in a public office, and conspiracy in relation to both offenses.” The three non-journalists were arrested “on suspicion of corruption, misconduct in a public office and conspiracy in relation to both,” according to CNN.
The arrests are part of Operation Elveden, the UK police’s investigation into bribery of “police and public officials.” There are also UK police investigations Operation Tuleta into e-mail hacking and Operation Weeting into phone hacking.
CNN noted that 21 people have been arrested in Operation Elveden and 17 people in Operation Weeting and three people arrested in connection with both investigations. The New York Times noted that these five Sun journalist arrests “brings to nine the number of current and former Sun employees arrested” in the current investigations into illegal activity in the UK press.
The arrested journalists are, according to the Guardian:
“deputy editor Geoff Webster, picture editor John Edwards, chief reporter John Kay, chief foreign correspondent Nick Parker and deputy news editor John Sturgis.”
The Associated Press reported the same names and attributed the information to an e-mail from News International CEO Tom Mockridge. See here that e-mail from Mockridge to staff published on the Guardian’s website.
The offices and homes of the eight arrested people were searched by the police, according to the Guardian.
The arrests were a result of information that News Corp’s Management and Standards Committee turned over to the police’s investigation, the Guardian noted. We wrote when four Sun journalists and a police officer were arrested last month also related to Operation Elveden. News Corp. said then that those arrests were also the result of their committee’s information.
See here all our stories on the UK phone hacking scandal that led to The Sun’s sister newspaper the News of the World being shut down last July.