British police chief quits over phone-hacking scandal

Britain's most senior police officer Paul Stephenson resigned on Sunday, citing allegations about Scotland Yard's links to Rupert Murdoch's empire amid the phone-hacking scandal.

"I have this afternoon informed the Home Secretary and the Mayor of my intention to resign as Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service," Stephenson said in a statement.

British police have been slammed over their handling of the snowballing crisis, and Stephenson himself faced accusations on Sunday over his connections with the tycoon.

Stephenson was linked to former News of the World deputy editor Neil Wallis in reports which said the police chief accepted a five-week stay earlier this year at a luxury health spa where Wallis worked as a public relations consultant.

The force is already facing questions about why it hired Wallis as an advisor two months after he quit the tabloid. Wallis was arrested last week.

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