The New Statesman has learned that Alastair Brett, the former legal manager at the Times, has been interviewed under caution by officers from Operation Tuleta, the Scotland Yard investigation into computer hacking.

The interview took place on 11 September by appointment at a London police station.  Brett was not arrested.  

Brett's interview under caution followed the arrest on 29 August of Patrick Foster, the Times reporter who allegedly hacked into the email account of the NightJack blogger Richard Horton.  

Brett was the in-house lawyer who advised the Times on resisting the privacy injunction application of Horton, and he was closely questioned by Lord Justice Leveson as to his role in the Times outing of Horton.  Brett is also facing an investigation by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

Horton is currently suing the Times for breach of confidence, misuse of private information, and deceit.

David Allen Green is legal correspondent of New Statesman