Police Payments: Sun Reporter Bailed By Met

A 48-year-old man arrested by detectives investigating illegal payments to police officers by journalists has been released on bail.

Jamie Pyatt, 48, has worked for the paper for more than two years and is the first non-News Of The World journalist to be arrested as part of the wider phone hacking and police payment investigations.

As a district journalist for the tabloid based in the Thames Valley, he covered the murder of teenager Milly Dowler, whose own phone was hacked by the News Of The World.

The revelation that Milly's phone was hacked triggered a storm of outrage which led to the Sunday tabloid's closure in July.

News International confirmed in a statement that an employee had been arrested.

"News International is cooperating fully with the Metropolitan Police service in its various investigations," the statement said.

The arrest, in connection with allegations of corruption, took place at about 10.30am on Friday morning at an address outside London.

It is the sixth made by detectives working on Operation Elveden, set up following claims that police officers had received thousands of pounds from the News of the World for information.

Police are also investigating phone hacking under Operation Weeting, and computer hacking under Operation Tuleta.

Around 5,800 people are now thought to have had their phones hacked by the News of the World, police have revealed.

Carol Caplin, the guru who worked with former prime minister Tony Blair, is the latest high-profile figure to emerge as a possible victim.

A spokesman said she had recently been notified by police that her mobile phone messages were hacked by private investigator Glenn Mulcaire while he was working for the now-defunct Sunday paper.

A total of 16 people have been arrested and bailed as part of the phone hacking scandal so far.

A High Court judge is due to hear evidence from a group of "lead claimants" at a trial in January. Any rulings he makes are expected to provide a blueprint for the way other claims are dealt with.

A separate public inquiry is also due to hear evidence on media ethics and hacking over the next year.