Three men detained over royal phone interception claims in Britain

Three men have been arrested for allegedly intercepting phone calls at Prince Charles's official Clarence House residence in central London, after staff there reported security breaches on its telephone network, police said on Tuesday.

The suspects, aged 35, 48 and 50, were detained for "unlawful telephone interceptions," said London's Metropolitan Police.

"Police launched an investigation after concerns were reported to the Met's Royalty Protection Department" by members of Clarence House in December 2005, a police spokeswoman said.

"It is focused on alleged repeated security breaches within telephone networks over a significant period of time," she added.

One of the three men is Clive Goodman, royal editor of one of Britain's leading newspapers, The News of the World, the Sunday title confirmed. The other two are not journalists, although their occupations are not yet known.

The offices of News International, which owns The News of the World, have also been searched by police.

Officers are yet to establish how many people have been affected, and have not ruled out the possibility that other royal households could have had their phone conversations intercepted.

Britain's domestic Press Association reported that the investigation, launched seven months ago, had gone beyond Clarence House to other public figures, including one member of Parliament.

Source: Xinhua