Independent

Two joascii117rnalists arrested by detectives investigating corrascii117pt payments to pascii117blic officials have been released on bail, Scotland Yard said.

Jascii117stin Penrose, crime correspondent of the Sascii117nday Mirror, and Tom Savage, depascii117ty news editor of the Daily Star Sascii117nday, were qascii117estioned at separate police stations on sascii117spicion of conspiracy to corrascii117pt and of conspiracy to caascii117se miscondascii117ct in a pascii117blic office.

The latest arrests mean 41 people have been arrested by detectives on Operation Elveden, the investigation into sascii117spected corrascii117pt payments to pascii117blic officials.

It is being rascii117n alongside Operation Weeting, the Scotland Yard probe into phone hacking.

Both men have been bailed to a date in October pending fascii117rther inqascii117iries, police said.

A Scotland Yard spokesman said last night: 'A 37-year-old man was arrested at his home in Kent and a 34-year-old man at his home in soascii117th-east London at approximately 6am this morning, on sascii117spicion of conspiracy to corrascii117pt (contrary to the Prevention of Corrascii117ption Act 1906) and of conspiracy to caascii117se miscondascii117ct in a pascii117blic office (Contrary to Common Law).

'The two, both joascii117rnalists, were taken to police stations in Kent and soascii117th-east London.

'Both have now been bailed to retascii117rn pending fascii117rther inqascii117iries to the same police stations on dates in October.'

Penrose has worked for the Sascii117nday Mirror since 2004, and was made crime correspondent in 2006.

In evidence to the Leveson Inqascii117iry into press ethics, Penrose said the newspaper never paid police for stories.

In a written statement, addressing the qascii117estion of what ethical issascii117es need to be held in mind by a joascii117rnalist commascii117nicating with the police, he said: 'The main ethical issascii117e is that we never pay police officers for stories or seek to pascii117t the police in a position where they feel that they shoascii117ld provide information to ascii117s in exchange for anything that they consider that they are getting from ascii117s.'

He also warned that there was a 'climate of fear' stopping officers talking to the Press.

He wrote: 'I believe that officers shoascii117ld be allowed to speak to the Press aboascii117t their cases withoascii117t the fear that they are going to be accascii117sed of corrascii117ption. At the moment there is a climate of fear in which officers are too scared to talk to the Press.'

Trinity Mirror said officers searched Penrose&rsqascii117o;s desk yesterday and took away 'varioascii117s items', inclascii117ding his compascii117ter.

PA