New child porn arrest

A senior civil servant is the latest high-profile figure to be arrested for accessing paedophile material on the internet, we can reveal.

Yusef Azad, who works at the London Assembly, has been interviewed by officers working on Operation Ore, Scotland Yard's transatlantic inquiry into child pornography. Azad was detained at his south London home amid claims he had downloaded illegal images onto his personal computer.

He is claimed to have paid for the items using his credit card.

Mr Azad, 39, is paid an annual salary of between £62,000 and £78,000. He is an independent watchdog on the Mayor's activities, reporting back to the Assembly. He was arrested under the Protection of Children Act 1978 and taken to a central London police station for questioning. A number of items including computer equipment were taken from his home. He has been released on bail and is due to reappear before the police next month.

Approached by the Evening Standard at his Brixton home, Mr Azad said angrily: "I am still employed by the Greater London Authority. I have no further comment to make. I don't know what you are talking about."

Mr Azad, believed to be unmarried, ignored further attempts by the Evening Standard to contact him at the terrace house where he lives alone.

Around 1,300 people have been arrested under Operation Ore, the largest ever investigation into online paedophilia in the UK.

They include Who star Pete Townshend, who was arrested by police yesterday, a judge, magistrates, dentists, hospital consultants and a former deputy headmaster.

Fifty police officers have been arrested, of whom eight have been charged, including Detective Constable Brian Stevens, 4 1 , o f Cambridgeshire police, who acted as a family liaison officer to the family of Jessica Chapman during the Soham murder inquiry. He has been charged with making indecent images of children and indecently assaulting two girls.

The names of those arrested were contained in a list passed to British police by the US Postal Service earlier this year after a payperview service containing child pornography was smashed.

The Postal Service uncovered the subscriber website for paedophiles, which was being operated by a couple from Texas. American investigators then found details of 75,000 subscribers around the world and passed on the 7,000 credit card references to British police.

Azad's arrest, on 5 December, has sent shock waves through City Hall and in the Commons, where he previously worked as secretary to the International Development select committee.

He is currently away from City Hall although no moves have yet been taken to formally suspend him.

He was appointed to the key post at the Assembly a year ago and quickly won recognition for improving its performance in monitoring the Ken Livingstone and his administration.

The allegations relate solely to Mr Azad's personal activities and there is no suggestion of misbehaviour at City Hall or abuse of GLA facilities.

A GLA spokesman said: "The GLA can confirm that a member of staff has been arrested and released on police bail but for legal reasons the GLA cannot discuss the identity of the individual or any further details. This is now a matter for the police."

Officers estimate that Operation Ore could take years, rather than months, to complete. Police have had to split the list of suspects into three categories.