Phone tapping: journalists held

THE former head of news and current chief reporter of the News of the World have been arrested on suspicion of phone hacking, sources said.

Ian Edmondson, 42, and Neville Thurlbeck, 50, were held by Scotland Yard detectives when they attended separate police stations in south-west London by appointment.

The pair were questioned on suspicion of conspiring to intercept communications and unlawfully intercepting voicemail messages.

These are the first arrests since the Metropolitan Police reopened its inquiry into claims that staff at the newspaper hacked into the phone messages of celebrities, politicians and royals.

Scotland Yard has endured a torrent of criticism over its handling of the original case, which led to the conviction of the News of the World’s royal editor, Clive Goodman, and private investigator Glenn Mulcaire in 2007.