Phone hacking: Glenn Mulcaire arrested, reports suggest

A 41-year-old man has been arrested in connection with phone hacking and perverting the course of justice.

The man, arrested at 7:00am today at an address in London, has been named by Sky News as private investigator Glenn Mulcaire. He was arrested by officers from the Metropolitan police's Operation Weeting investigation and is currently in custody at a south London police station.

The full statement from the Met police reads: "On 7 December 2011 officers from Operation Weeting arrested a 41-year-old man [P] in connection with phone hacking and perverting the course of justice.

"At 07:00hrs officers arrested the man at an address in London on suspicion of conspiring to intercept voicemail messages, contrary to Section1 (1) Criminal Law Act 1977 and on suspicion of perverting the course of justice contrary to common law. The man is currently in custody at a south London police station.

"It would be inappropriate to discuss any further details at this time."

The arrest is the 18th by the Met's Operation Weeting team, which is investigating phone hacking at News International and elsewhere. It follows the arrest of Bethany Usher, who was questioned last week in connection with voicemail interception. Usher subsequently denied any involvement with hacking.

Other previous arrests by the Weeting team include several high-profile figures: former News International chief executive Rebekah Brooks, former News of the World editor and Downing Street director of communications Andy Coulson, and former News of the World managing editor Stuart Kuttner.

No charges have yet been brought against any of those arrested.

Weeting is one of three Met police operations connected to the phone-hacking scandal, with Operations Elveden and Tuleta investigating corrupt police payments and computer hacking respectively.

Operation Elveden has made six arrests, three of those joint arrests with Weeting, and Tuleta made its first arrest last month when a 52-year-old man was taken into custody at Thames Valley police station.

Free daily newsletter

If you like our news and feature articles, you can sign up to receive our free daily (Mon-Fri) email newsletter (mobile friendly).