LONDON, Oct. 1 (UPI) -- A British counter-terrorism detective was charged with allegedly informing a newspaper about a police probe into illegal phone-hacking, court records said.
Detective chief inspector April Casburn, 53, is accused of offering the now-closed newspaper News of the World information about Operation Varec, an investigation of whether a London Metropolitan Police inquiry on alleged phone-hacking should be reopened, The Guardian reported Monday.
Casburn was charged with violating the Official Secrets Act, as well as misconduct in public office after a file sent to prosecutors alleged inappropriate payments by journalists to police and other public servants, the newspapers said.
Casburn is the former head of the National Terrorist Financial Investigation Unit, which assists police in sensitive inquiries. She will appear in court Nov. 2 for a plea hearing, court documents said.
