Rugby boss arrested over hacking in dawn swoop

The millionaire owner of a top rugby club has been arrested by detectives investigating computer hacking, the Evening Standard can reveal.

Steve Hayes owns London Wasps and Wycombe Wanderers football club. He was seized in a dawn raid at his Hertfordshire farm by police who are also probing alleged criminality at the News of the World.

Hayes, 50, who is worth an estimated £50 million, was detained on suspicion of offences under the Computer Misuse Act in February. The arrest by Operation Tuleta is a significant twist in the Met’s inquiry into illegal information-gathering, which has so far focused on newspapers.

Former mortgage salesman Mr Hayes, a powerful London figure, made £50 million from the sale of an internet loans company he co-founded.

He bought his first stake in League One side Wycombe Wanderers in 2004 and purchased London Wasps in 2008, becoming friends with club legend Lawrence Dallaglio, a former England rugby captain and World Cup-winner.

Mr Hayes, who is now on police bail, is on holiday in Dubai. On the same day he was arrested, Scotland Yard also held Graham Freeman, who founded a security consultancy with a former British Army intelligence officer.

Mr Freeman was held in Surrey over the same allegations. A London Wasps spokesman confirmed Mr Hayes was arrested but refused to comment further due to the ongoing police investigation.

A source close to the inquiry said: “These arrests demonstrate that Tuleta are intent on investigating criminality and will target anyone who is suspected of commissioning hackers.”

A Scotland Yard spokesman said: “On 24 February 2012, officers from Operation Tuleta arrested a man at his home in Hertfordshire, and a man at an address in Surrey, on suspicion of offences under the Computer Misuse Act 1990 and the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA) 2000.

“These arrests are not directly linked to any news organisation or the activities of journalists. They were taken to London police stations and later bailed to return in June and July 2012 pending further enquiries.”