UK phone-hacking case: Army man, wife arrested

A serving member of the armed forces was arrested along with his wife on Thursday by the British police in connection with an investigation related to phone-hacking at media baron Rupert Murdoch's now-defunct News of the World tabloid.

The man, 42, and the woman, 32, were arrested by the Scotland Yard as part of Operation Elvedev -- which is investigating allegations of inappropriate payments to police and public officials by news organisations -- for information to be used in stories.

The man was arrested on suspicion of corruption and misconduct in a public office, while the woman was held on suspicion of conspiracy to commit corruption and misconduct in a public office.

Operation Elveden is being conducted in conjunction with Operation Weeting, the Scotland Yard inquiry into the phone-hacking of voicemail boxes.

Police said the woman was arrested at her home in Chertsey, while her husband, who was described as a serving member of the armed forces, was arrested at an address in Camberley.

The two were being interviewed at a police station in Surrey.

The police said, "Today's arrests are the result of information provided to police by News Corporation's Management Standards Committee.

"They relate to suspected payments to a public official and are not about seeking journalists to reveal confidential sources in relation to information that has been obtained legitimately," said the police.