Rebekah Brooks 'arrested over phone hacking scandal at News International'
By DAILY MAIL REPORTER
Last updated at 1:52 PM on 17th July 2011
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The former editor of the News of the World Rebekah Brooks has been arrested in relation to the phone hacking scandal.
Police confirmed that a 43-year-old woman has been arrested in connection with allegations of corruption and phone hacking.
At approximately midday a 43-year-old woman was arrested by appointment at a London police station by officers from Operation Weeting together with officers from Operation Elveden and is currently in custody.
Arrested: Rebekah Brooks has reportedly been arrested over the phone hacking scandal engulfing Rupert Murdoch's media empire
She was arrested on suspicion of conspiring to intercept communications, contrary to Section1(1) Criminal Law Act 1977 and on suspicion of corruption allegations contrary to Section 1 of the Prevention of Corruption Act 1906.
The Operation Weeting team is conducting the new investigation into phone hacking.
Operation Elveden is the investigation into allegations of inappropriate payments to police. This investigation is being supervised by the IPCC.
A Scotland Yard source has previously said that executives at Rupert Murdoch's empire News International - including his son James - were being investigated over a possible 'cover up' of the hacking scandal.
The Murdochs and Mrs Brooks are scheduled to appear before the Commons culture, media and sport committee on Tuesday.
The witnesses have all warned that the on-going criminal inquiry will hamper their responses, so many of the most controversial issues could be out of bounds.
But The Independent on Sunday said it was understood the Committee has legal advice that says Ms Brooks and the Murdochs must reveal, under oath, what they know as they have not been arrested by police investigating the hacking scandal.
Media lawyer Mark Stephens told Sky News that Rebekah Brooks’ evidence before the Select Committee on Tuesday is likely to be unaffected by her arrest today.
Mr Stephens said: ‘Although she is likely to be in the police station for the thick end of today, there is no doubt she will be released in time to go to the Select Committee.
‘This investigation is strangling and squeezing the information out and it’s information that should frankly have been out some years ago. The police have sat on this and not done anything for years.
‘They have serious questions to ask about that.’
In the wake of the scandal at his empire, Mr Murdoch closed News of the World and News International withdrew its bid for BSkyB. Mrs Brooks eventually resigned on Friday as Mr Murdoch tried to restore public faith in his business.
News International has confirmed to the Sunday Telegraph that senior executives had read a series of emails allegedly exposing phone hacking at the News of the World.
In the intervening years before the emails were handed to police, James Murdoch is said to have paid Gordon Taylor, the chief executive of the Professional Footballers' Association £700,000 to settle out of court.
Critics claim the confidential agreement effectively had bought his silence.
Mr Murdoch has said he would never have made the payment if he had known then the full facts of 'industrial scale' hacking which is thought to have targeted thousands of people.
David Beckham is said to believe he was the target for phone hackers over the past decade. He has instructed his solicitors to find out if he is on the list of 4,000 possible victims which includes murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler, victims of 7/7 bombing and members of the Royal Family.
The police investigation has now spread to the investigative unit of The Sunday Times, according to a report in the New York Times.
The investigation will look into allegations that journalists hacked into email accounts and took part in other online privacy invasions, a person with knowledge of the scope of the inquiry told the newspaper.
One target of the investigation is alleged to be Jonathan Rees, a private detective employed by the News of the World.
Tom Watson, the Labour Minister who has led the campaign against phone hacking, claims police have evidence that Mr Rees was paid by News International and that he had claimed to have met with members of the Sunday Times investigation unit.
Ed Miliband has cranked up the pressure today on Rupert Murdoch by demanding the break-up of his UK media empire.
The Labour leader called for all political parties to agree on new laws governing media ownership, significantly cutting the billionaire's market share. He accused Mr Murdoch of having 'too much power over British public life.'
Read more: Rebekah Brooks 'arrested over phone hacking scandal at News International' | Mail Online
