Covid: Further arrest made over suspected fake vaccine records

Met Police officers previously arrested three men in Ilford as part of two separate investigations

A woman has become the fourth person to be arrested over suspected fake Covid-19 vaccination records.

Three men were previously held after investigations were launched when staff at two London NHS Trusts noticed suspicious entries on their systems.

Police said a 28-year-old woman from Redbridge had been held, and two laptops and two mobile phones seized, as part of one of the probes.

She and another of the arrested men are both employees of the same NHS Trust.

The woman has been arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit offences under section two of the Computer Misuse Act, fraud by false representation and money laundering.

The Met's Cyber Crime Unit started investigating after suspicious activity was found within the Trust's online system.

• Arrests over suspect vaccine records on NHS system

Det Insp Alex Flanagan said: "Following arrests last week regarding two separate investigations into fake vaccine records, we have identified a fourth person suspected to be involved.

"Misuse of IT systems is extremely serious and we will be analysing all devices seized, working closely with our partners."

The 36-year-old man who was previously held as part of the same investigation was released from custody but remains under investigation.

During the second investigation two other men, aged 27 and 23, were arrested on suspicion of unauthorised computer access and conspiracy to commit fraud by misrepresentation.

Both have been released under investigation.

The Met has said that no NHS networks had been hacked from the outside and systems remained "robust".