Scotland Yard has defended its handling of the inquiries into hacking and corrupt payments by journalists amid heavy criticism, insisting the operations were not "in any way disproportionate".

Trevor Kavanagh, associate editor of The Sun, claimed the police investigation into alleged press malpractice was regarded by many as a "witch-hunt" after five of his colleagues were arrested at the weekend.

But police said in a statement that "given the seriousness of the allegations currently under investigation and the significant number of victims, the MPS (Metropolitan Police Service) does not believe that the level of resources devoted to the three inquiries is in any way disproportionate to the enormous task in hand."

Mr Kavanagh suggested up to 20 officers at a time had raided the homes of deputy editor Geoff Webster, picture editor John Edwards, chief reporter John Kay, chief foreign correspondent Nick Parker, and John Sturgis, who is a news editor.

Police denied this however, saying no more than 10 officers attended each of the home addresses on Saturday.