Brooks Arrested In Phone Hacking Probe

Rebekah Brooks has been arrested by officers investigating allegations of corruption and phone hacking.

The 43-year-old went to a London police station by appointment at midday today and is being held on suspicion of conspiring to intercept communications and corruption allegations.

Operation Weeting has been launched to investigate claims that newspaper journalists hacked into the phones of high-profile figures and even victims of crime.

Mrs Brooks resigned as chief executive of News International (NI) on Friday.

She was editor of the News Of The World (NOTW) when missing schoolgirl Milly Dowler's phone was hacked and messages were deleted. The teenager was later found murdered.

Mrs Brooks is the tenth person to be arrested in connection with the NOTW scandal since detectives reopened their investigation earlier this year.

A separate investigation, titled Operation Elveden, is looking at allegations of inappropriate payments to police.

Mrs Brooks' PR spokesman said: "Rebekah is assisting the police with their enquiries. She attended a London police station voluntarily.

"It was a pre-arranged appointment. We are unable to comment further as it is an ongoing police investigation."

Mrs Brooks is due to appear alongside News Corporation chairman Rupert Murdoch and his son James, who is chairman of NI, before the Culture, Media and Sport committee on Tuesday.

:: Read a profile of Rebekah Brooks here

But Mark White, home affairs correspondent, said her arrest could have implications for her appearance.

"When there are some difficult questions coming her way, that gives her the opportunity perhaps not to be as candid with those questions as the committee might like her to be."

Media commentator Steve Hewlett told Sky News: "The fact that she's been arrested is not entirely surprising - I don't think it should be taken to mean there is necessarily evidence pointing to her direct knowledge of the events.

"But I imagine it is a matter of procedure really - that the inquiry is getting serious."

Ex-NOTW political editor David Wooding has tweeted that "senior execs at News Int had no idea Rebekah was about to be arrested when she quit last week".

The last ever issue of the NOTW was published on July 10 after the decision was made to close the newspaper.

James Murdoch said the tabloid had been "sullied by behaviour that was wrong".