Arrested former NoW reporter denies phone hacking

Bethany Usher, the former News of the World reporter arrested earlier this week on suspicion of phone hacking, has issued a statement claiming she has "never been involved in the interception of telecommunications in any way" and has always "strictly adhered to the Press Complaints Commission code of practice".

Usher, who left the tabloid in 2008, said she became "disillusioned through working with some who saw human suffering simply as fodder to fill pages" and "made the decision to find an alternative career".

The 31-year-old went on from the News of the World to work as a media and journalism lecturer at Teeside University. She was arrested at her home in Northumbria on Wednesday at 6:35am by officers from the Metropolitan police's phone hacking investigation, Operation Weeting.

In her statement, published by the Guardian, Usher said: "I fully support the work of Operation Weeting and the Leveson inquiry and hope they will help to clean up an industry which forces out young people who chose a career path where they hoped they could make a difference".

"I embarked on a career in journalism with the best intentions, believing that being the eyes and ears of the public was a just profession.

"I worked for national newspapers between 2005 and 2008, spending two of those years at the News of the World, working largely on the road in the north of England. At no time did I work in the Wapping office and I had little contact with other colleagues."

She added: "I do not wish to interfere with police investigations and as such any further comment would be irresponsible. However, like most people, I have been disgusted by revelations over recent months."

Usher began her career as a trainee on the Sunderland Echo and later worked for the People as well as the News of the World. According to her Teeside University profile she has won four journalism awards, including Young Journalist of the Year in 2003.

Her arrest was the 17th by Operation Weeting, with previous arrests including former News of the World editors Rebekah Brooks and Andy Coulson and former managing editor Stuart Kuttner.

Weeting, which has yet to charge anyone, is one of three Met police investigations connected to the phone hacking scandal, with Operations Elveden and Tuleta looking into corrupt police payments and computer hacking respectively.

Six arrests have been made by officers from Operation Elveden, three of those in conjunction with Weeting, and the Tuleta team made its first arrest last week.

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