Metropolitan Police have arrested a 32-year-old woman has been arrested on suspicion of making corrupt payments to public officials .
A 32-year-old woman has been arrested on suspicion of making corrupt payments to public officials, by detectives from the Metropolitan police's Operation Elveden.
It is understood that the person arrested is Virginia Wheeler, the defence editor of the Sun. Wheeler has been abroad on extended leave, but police had wanted to question her. It is understood she has returned to the country.
The woman was arrested by appointment on Thursday morning and is the 23rd person to be arrested by officers working on Operation Elveden. She is in custody at a south London police station.
She is the 11th Sun journalist to be arrested since last November. According to her profile on the Sun's website, Wheeler is the Sun's first female defence editor.
Thursday's arrest was made under the Prevention of Corruption Act 1906 and aiding and abetting misconduct in a public office (contrary to common law) and conspiracy in relation to both offences.
In a statement, the Met Police said that: "The operation is the result of information provided to police by News Corporation's management standards committee."
Scotland Yard also added that their work is focusing on investigating 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.
• To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email editor@mediaguardian.co.uk or phone 020 3353 3857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000. If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark clearly "for publication".
• To get the latest media news to your desktop or mobile, follow MediaGuardian on Twitter and Facebook.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2012/mar/01/met-arrests-32-year-old-woman
A 32-year-old woman has been arrested on suspicion of making corrupt payments to public officials, by detectives from the Metropolitan police's Operation Elveden.
It is understood that the person arrested is Virginia Wheeler, the defence editor of the Sun. Wheeler has been abroad on extended leave, but police had wanted to question her. It is understood she has returned to the country.
The woman was arrested by appointment on Thursday morning and is the 23rd person to be arrested by officers working on Operation Elveden. She is in custody at a south London police station.
She is the 11th Sun journalist to be arrested since last November. According to her profile on the Sun's website, Wheeler is the Sun's first female defence editor.
Thursday's arrest was made under the Prevention of Corruption Act 1906 and aiding and abetting misconduct in a public office (contrary to common law) and conspiracy in relation to both offences.
In a statement, the Met Police said that: "The operation is the result of information provided to police by News Corporation's management standards committee."
Scotland Yard also added that their work is focusing on investigating 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.
• To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email editor@mediaguardian.co.uk or phone 020 3353 3857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000. If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark clearly "for publication".
• To get the latest media news to your desktop or mobile, follow MediaGuardian on Twitter and Facebook.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2012/mar/01/met-arrests-32-year-old-woman
