Met officer bailed over hacking 'payments'

A retired Scotland Yard officer arrested by officers investigating inappropriate payments from journalists has been released on bail pending further inquiries.

The 57-year-old - who served on the force's command that defends Britain against terror - was held on suspicion of misconduct in a public office, relating to the phone-hacking scandal.

Officers from Operation Elveden swooped on his Surrey home during a dawn raid at 6.30am yesterday before taking him into custody and conducting a search at the property.

The suspect, who became the 27th person arrested under Elveden after information was provided to police by News Corporation's management standards committee, was released yesterday evening and bailed to a date in August, Scotland Yard said.

He worked as part of the force's Specialist Operations command, which has a host of security responsibilities from providing armed protection services for ministers and the Royal Family to counter-terrorism intelligence gathering.

The inquiry into allegations of inappropriate payments to police and public officials runs alongside the force's Operation Weeting investigation into mobile phone interceptions.

The arrest comes a fortnight after The Sun's royal editor, Duncan Larcombe, was arrested along with a 42-year-old former member of the Armed Forces and a 38-year-old woman as part of the same inquiry.

PA