Former News of the World journalist Neville Thurlbeck has described allegations he intimidated a witness as "far-fetched."

He was arrested yesterday and bailed to return to a police station at a later date.

The Hinchley Wood resident has been on police bail since April 5 last year, when he was arrested on suspicion of phone hacking.

He was unveiled as the Surrey Comet’s theatre critic last month in an unpaid role and has also written articles for the Press Gazette, been interviewed on the BBC and started a new career in PR for forces charity Talking 2 Minds.

Police officers re-arrested the 50-year-old on Wednesday by appointment at a central London police station over allegations of interfering with a witness and encouraging or assisting an offence.

It is understood officers from Scotland Yard’s phone-hacking operation, Operation Weeting, carried out the arrest.

On his blog he wrote: “One minute I was sitting penning a new post. The next, I was in the police station, having DNA mouth swabs and my fingerprints and police mug shot taken.

“A complaint had been made and acted upon very swiftly indeed.

“For six hours on Wednesday, it really didn’t feel like England.”

He said he vigorously denied the allegations, which he said seemed far-fetched. He also corrected Scotland Yard over getting his age wrong.

Last week he apologised after publishing the road name of one of the men at News International helping with the investigation into allegations of wrongdoing at the Sun and the News of the World.

He later wrote he “accepted … that printing the name of his street was distressing to his family and took this down immediately as I have absolutely no wish to do this”.

In a statement the Metropolitan Police said: “A 51-year-old man was arrested by appointment at a central London police station at about 4pm today by officers from Operation Weeting, the MPS inquiry into the phone hacking of voicemails.

“He was arrested on suspicion of intimidation of a witness (contrary to Section 51 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994) and encouraging or assisting an offence (contrary to Section 46 of the Serious Crime Act 2007)."

Mr Thurlbeck has written one review so far in the Surrey Comet – praising Joely Richardson’s performance in The Lady From the Sea for its “unashamed suburban reality”.