Police in London have arrested a senior journalist at the News of the World as part of their investigation into phone hacking at the tabloid newspaper.
James Weatherup is in police custody at a police station in outer London, The Guardian reported.
Weatherup has not previously been named in connection with the voicemail interception scandal and his arrest may trigger additional searches of the newspaper’s offices.
Earlier this month, publisher News International issued a statement saying it will admit liability in some of the cases brought against it for phone hacking by News of the World.
The Rupert Murdoch-owned company said it has asked its lawyers to establish a compensation fund to deal with “justifiable claims fairly and efficiently”.
“Past behaviour at the News of the World in relation to voicemail interception is a matter of genuine regret. It is now apparent that our previous inquiries failed to uncover important evidence and we acknowledge our actions were not sufficiently robust,” the statement said.
Several cases are active against the tabloid for illegally intercepting mobile phone voicemail messages between 2004 and 2006. Litigants include politician Tessa Jowell, football commentator Andy Gray, actresses Sienna Miller and Lesley Ash, and designer Kelly Hoppen.
