POLICE IN LONDON have arrested a 43-year-old journalist as part of an ongoing investigation into allegations of inappropriate payments to police and public officials by members of the media.

The man was detained at about 9am today after attending a southwest London police station by appointment. He was arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to corrupt and suspicion of conspiracy to cause misconduct in a public office.

It is the 47th arrest since Operation Elveden began. The mission is being supervised by the Independent Police Complaints Commission and is running in conjunction with Operation Weeting, the Metropolitan Police inquiry into phone-hacking.

Police said today’s arrest is the result of information provided by News Corporation’s Management Standards Committee. “It relates to suspected payments to a public official and is not about seeking journalists to reveal confidential sources in relation to information that has been obtained legitimately,” they added in a statement.