Met police chief Sir Paul Stephenson quits over hacking scandal

The Metropolitan Police Commissioner's sudden fall came at the end of a dramatic day during which Rebekah Brooks, News International's chief executive until three days ago, was arrested in London as part of the investigations into police corruption and phone hacking.

Brooks was being questioned at an undisclosed police station in London late into the evening.

The arrest of such a senior figure is a further blow to the integrity of Rupert Murdoch's empire and is likely to place further pressure to Prime Minister David Cameron, who is a personal friend of the former News of the World editor.

She was said to be "surprised" by the arrest, which came at a pre-arranged meeting with police. It is unclear whether it will mean she is unable to answer MPs questions along with her former employers Rupert and James Murdoch in parliament tomorrow.

In his resignation statement, Sir Paul denied any wrong doing and said his integrity was "completely intact", despite revelations that he had appointed former News of the World deputy editor, Neil Wallis, as an adviser, and had received thousands of pounds worth of hospitality at Champneys health resort while recovering from serious illness. Mr Wallis worked as PR consultant for Champneys.

Mr Wallis was arrested last week for "conspiring to intercept communications".

Sir Paul, 57, said he wanted "to put the record straight" over his relationship with Mr Wallis, saying that he had no reason to believe he had been involved with phone hacking.

He added: "I do not occupy a position in the world of journalism, I had no knowledge of the extent of the disgraceful practice and the repugnant nature of the selection of victims that is now emerging, nor is it apparent reach into senior levels."

Sir Paul also added that he had saw no reason to inform senior ministers of Mr Wallis's employment by the force between 2009 and 2010, during which time he earned 24,000.

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Highlighting just how close to the heart of government the row has reached, the policeman referred to the relationship between David Cameron and another former News of the World editor, Andy Coulson, who went on to become the Prime Minister's communications chief, saying: "Once Mr Wallis's name did become associated with Operation Weeting (the phone-hacking investigation], I did not want to compromise the Prime Minister in any way by revealing or discussing a potential suspect who clearly had a close relationship with Mr Coulson.

"I am aware of the many political exchanges in relation to Mr Coulson's previous employment - I believe it would have been extraordinarily clumsy of me to have exposed the Prime Minister, or by association the Home Secretary, to any accusation, however unfair as a consequence of them being in possession of operational information in this regard. Because of the individuals involved, their positions and relationships, these were I believe unique circumstances."

Sir Paul said he had told Buckingham Palace, Home Secretary Theresa May and London mayor Boris Johnson about his decision.

A Home Office spokesman said Ms May told Sir Paul she was "sorry" that he was resigning when he called to inform her of his decision.

The Scotsman understands that Ms May had failed to offer Sir Paul her full backing before he made his mind up.

She is due to deliver a statement on the situation to the Commons today.

Referring to his stay at Champneys, Sir Paul denied any wrongdoing, saying: "There has been no impropriety and I am extremely happy with what I did and the reasons for it - to do everything possible to return to running the Met full time, significantly ahead of medical, family and friends' advice.

"The attempt to represent this in a negative way is both cynical and disappointing."

Sir Paul and Brooks are both due to appear before MPs tomorrow in separate committee meetings investigating the phone-hacking scandal.

Sir Paul's appearance follows senior Met officers including John Yates and Andy Hayman, the former assistant commissioner who headed the 2006 inquiry into hacking, being described as "unconvincing" when they appeared before the Commons home affairs select committee.

Mr Yates, who decided not to reopen the investigation two years ago, said he "regretted" the decision but described calls for him to resign as "unfair".

Mark Lewis, solicitor for the family of Milly Dowler, said it had been a "significant day" of developments.

He said: "These are very important times, the public are standing up to the three Ps - press, politics and the police."

Peter Smyth, chair of the Met Police Federation, said: "I am surprised. I think it is a sad day for Paul and a sad day for the Metropolitan Police.

"He is a very private man, I have never had any reason to question his integrity. He has come to a decision based on what he knows about himself."

He added: "I think News International have been quite clever, they have turned the focus away from themselves and more on to the Metropolitan Police, which I think was a deliberate tactic. It is a matter for Sir Paul whether he felt he could have weathered that storm. Clearly, he thought he couldn't, so he is gone."

Former deputy prime minister Lord Prescott, who called on Friday for Sir Paul to resign, wrote on Twitter: "I always thought the Met and News International were too close and now we see how close they were.

"Another green bottle has fallen - more to come."

Keith Vaz, chairman of the Home Affairs Select Committee, said Sir Paul had "shown leadership" with his resignation.

"He's accepted responsibility. He's a person of integrity. When he was appointed, he was appointed because he was a safe pair of hands and I think that he probably felt that he was not providing that leadership at the moment because of the situation," Mr Vaz said.

"I don't think we should criticise people when they decide to take responsibility."

Yesterday, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said he was "incredibly worried" about the impact of the scandal on the public's confidence in the police.

"When the public starts losing faith in the police it's altogether much more serious and we really are in some trouble," he said.

"That's why I think it's very important the Commissioner should answer the questions which are being put to him by the Home Secretary and answer them very fully."

Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said Sir Paul had taken a "brave and honourable decision" and that his "operational pedigree is without question". "Ultimately, Sir Paul has taken responsibility for a saga which he makes clear in his statement he had no direct involvement with from the beginning, because of the continued speculation around the appointment of Neil Wallis," she said.

"It is striking that Sir Paul has taken responsibility and answered questions about the appointment of the deputy editor of the News of the World whereas the Prime Minister still refuses to recognise his misjudgment and answer questions on the appointment of the editor of the News of the World at the time of the initial phone-hacking investigation.

"People will wonder at why different rules apply for the Prime Minister and the Met."