Update: Sky Sports news:

French Justice Ministry confirm four arrests were made in the country today after 10 raids.

Update: Daily Mail tweet:

Lee Charnley released without charge by HMRC. He was not formally questioned and will return to work tomorrow.

Update: Daily Mirror report:

Toon owner Mike Ashley only found out from the TV news, according to the club’s chief scout Graham Carr, dad of comedian Alan.

He said: “Mike wouldn’t know what was going on in the office. He’d probably know the gross figures and all that, and how much is paid to agents.

"But he would probably leave Lee Charnley to run the club which he’s done very well. It’s a sad day for Newcastle, a real bolt out of the blue. It’s a bit of a shocker.”

Carr, 72, admitted he expected to be questioned but insisted he had nothing to hide.

Update: club statement issued at 6.20pm

Newcastle United can confirm that a member of its staff has this morning been assisting HMRC with their inquiries.

The Club will be making no further comment at this time.

Update: Sky reported at 6.10pm that Lee Charnley has been released by HMRC officials.

Update: From the Football London website, which is owned by Mirror Group Newspapers:

It has emerged in France that Marseille are at the centre of a criminal investigation and some senior directors have been charged, with some 800 bank accounts and 110 companies being examined.

From Sky Sports:

Newcastle's St. James' Park and West Ham's London Stadium have been raided as part of a police investigation into a suspected £5m income tax and National Insurance fraud.

Sky confirm that both SJP and the club's Darsley Park training ground were raided at 6.30am and were still present at club offices some hours later.

From The Independent:

Newcastle United and West Ham have been raided by Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs after an investigation into the clubs' transfer dealings.

Both St. James' Park and the London Stadium were the subject of warrants, and Newcastle's managing director, Lee Charnley, has been arrested.

Charnley has been a key cog in Mike Ashley's regime on Tyneside, running the club and being largely responsible for first-team recruitment. The 39-year- old doled out a net spend of some £70million in 2016.

It is a stunning blow for the Magpies, who were flying high after securing their return to the Premier League on Monday night with a win over Preston.

HMRC say they have arrested "several men working within professional football industry for suspected income tax & national insurance fraud."

"180 HMRC officers have been deployed across the UK and France today. Investigators have searched a number of premises in the North East and South East of England and arrested the men and also seized business records, financial records, computers and mobile phones.

"The French authorities are assisting the UK investigation, have made arrests and several locations have been searched in France.

"This criminal investigation sends a clear message that, whoever you are, if you commit tax fraud you can expect to face the consequences. As this is an ongoing investigation HMRC is unable to provide any further detail at this time."

photo: themag