Four current and former Sun journalists and a Metropolitan Police officer arrested over alleged illegal police payments have been released on bail.
Scotland Yard confirmed five men detained yesterday by officers from Operation Elveden had been released pending further inquiries.
Their arrests came as officers searched News International's headquarters in Wapping in a bid to gain new evidence surrounding the Sun's newsgathering activities.
Operation Elveden - which runs alongside but separate to the Met's Operation Weeting team - was launched as the phone hacking scandal erupted last July with allegations about the now-closed News of the World targeting Milly Dowler's mobile phone.
The 29-year-old male officer was arrested at a police station in central London where he works.
Lawyers were said to have joined officers in the newsrooms between 6am and 8am yesterday to ensure journalists’ sources were not compromised.
Officers gained warrants to search the home addresses of the suspects in addition to the Sun's offices, Scotland Yard said.
The officer, who serves with the MPS Territorial Policing command, was held on suspicion of corruption, misconduct in a public office and conspiracy in relation to the offences.
The journalists were questioned on suspicion of corruption, aiding and abetting misconduct in a public office and conspiracy in relation to the offences. All five men were bailed to various dates in April and May.
A force spokesman said the operation was “the result of information provided to police by News Corporation’s management and standards committee”.
He added: “It relates to suspected payments to police officers and is not about seeking journalists to reveal confidential sources in relation to information that has been obtained legitimately.”
News Corporation, the parent company of News International which owns the Sun and The Times, confirmed four current and former employees from the Sun newspaper has been arrested.
It said in a statement: “News Corporation made a commitment last summer that unacceptable news gathering practices by individuals in the past would not be repeated.
“It commissioned the Management and Standards Committee (MSC) to undertake a review of all News International titles, regardless of cost, and to proactively co-operate with law enforcement and other authorities if potentially relevant information arose at those titles.
“As a result of that review, which is ongoing, the MSC provided information to the Elveden investigation.”
Deborah Glass, deputy chairman of the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC), which is supervising the investigation, said: “I am satisfied with the strenuous efforts being made by this investigation to identify police officers who may have taken corrupt payments and I believe the results will speak for themselves.”
Elveden was launched after officers were handed documents suggesting News International journalists made illegal payments to police officers.
Others questioned as part of the inquiry include former News International chief executive Rebekah Brooks, ex-Downing Street communications chief Andy Coulson, former News of the World managing editor Stuart Kuttner, the paper's former royal editor Clive Goodman, former News of the World crime editor Lucy Panton and Sun district editor Jamie Pyatt.
Mrs Brooks and Mr Coulson are both former editors of the News of the World, which was closed in July at the height of the hacking scandal following disclosures that murdered teenager Milly Dowler's phone was involved.
Sir Paul Stephenson, the then Met Commissioner, said in July that evidence from the publisher suggested a small number of officers were involved.
The phone hacking scandal led to the closure of the News of the World after 168 years, prompted a major public inquiry, and forced the resignation of Sir Paul and assistant commissioner John Yates.
PA