York City Council was thrown into turmoil yesterday when its long-serving leader was arrested.

Rod Hills, one of Labour's high-profile politicians in North Yorkshire, was arrested early yesterday as part of what police called an "on-going inquiry".

He was taken to York's police HQ where he spent the day being questioned. However, detectives have declined to comment on the nature of their investigation.

Coun Hills has been the leader of the Labour council in York for about 15 years.

The arrest follows a lengthy investigation sparked by the reported theft of private photographs from Coun Hills' home in Huntington Road, York, and later attempts to circulate them in the city