Two Journalists Arrested in Phone Hacking Scandal

Two journalists implicated in the News of the World phone hacking scandal have been arrested today. The former news editor, who was fired in January, and current chief reporter voluntarily turned themselves in at London police stations and were taken into custody on suspicion of illegally intercepting voicemail messages, the Guardian reports. Ian Edmondson and Neville Thurlbeck are expected to be released later today after police search their homes.

The arrests are part of Operation Weeting, which aims to determine whether there are grounds to prosecute the scandal further. Edmondson's and Thurlbeck's alleged involvement was revealed through documents seized from Glenn Mulcaire, the private investigator News of the World employed, who was sentenced to jail in 2007 along with just one reporter, formal royal editor Clive Goodman. No charges have been brought against Edmondson or Thurlbeck, both of whom deny any wrongdoing. Click for more background. (More phone hacking scandal stories.)