SURREY Police has arrested a 43-year-old woman from Wiltshire on suspicion of fraud and misconduct in public office in connection with the criminal investigation into Waverley Borough Council’s botched 2016 Air Quality Annual Status report, it has emerged.

Asked for an update on the investigation this week, a police spokesman confirmed a woman was arrested on May 1 and has since been released under investigation.

Surrey Police has declined to identify the woman, as she has not yet been charged, adding only: “A number of enquiries have been carried out and the investigation remains ongoing.”

Likewise, responding to news of the arrest, a Waverley spokesman said the borough council had not had an update from the police on the investigation, “so can’t confirm anything”, merely adding: “Waverley Borough Council is still awaiting the outcome of the police investigation and will continue to support them with their enquiries.”

Waverley’s audit committee was last updated on the police investigation in July, but no mention of the arrest was made in the public papers for the meeting, which read: “In August 2017, the council’s approach to recording and reporting air quality came under scrutiny following queries from an expert member of the public. The council’s publicly reported figures were found to be incorrect and its air quality report for 2016 was subsequently withdrawn.

“Two reviews were commissioned. Independent air quality experts assessed the 2016 data and a revised report was completed.

“An independent public sector audit practice was also engaged to review processes and information was passed to Surrey Police for further investigation.”

Waverley is duty bound to submit an annual report to the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) after an air quality management area was declared in Farnham in 2004, following the discovery of excessive levels of nitrogen dioxide – linked to as many as 40,000 premature deaths every year in the UK.

However, speculation suggests Waverley could face a potential six-figure fine, amid claims it grossly under-estimated the scale of Farnham’s air-pollution problem and submitted misleading data to DEFRA. The borough council commissioned an independent review of its 2016 air quality report in August last year following complaints by The Farnham Society and air quality expert David Harvey that officers had got their figures wrong.

The error was confirmed by red-faced council chiefs a month later, prompting a comprehensive audit of the borough’s air quality monitoring and reporting arrangements.

Waverley has since awarded a new three-year contract for the monitoring and reporting of the borough’s air quality, as well as establishing an air quality steering group, and is now releasing raw air quality data monthly on its website.

But the borough council has faced further criticism from opposition Farnham Residents councillor Jerry Hyman, however, for not publishing the full set of available data – namely figures from Waverley’s ‘continuous analyser’ monitoring equipment located next to the busy Royal Deer crossroads.

Speaking at a meeting of the council’s environment overview and scrutiny committee on Monday, Mr Hyman bemoaned the council’s lack of progress on air quality, and again queried: “Have we got believable data from this year?”

The opposition member’s call for action was backed by the Tory councillor for Rowledge, Wyatt Ramsdale, who added: “We have serious air pollution problems on our roads and we need to see action.”

Responding, Waverley’s head of environmental services, Richard Homewood, said “considerable efforts have been made to ensure the data is robust”, adding that in January 2019 the council will have a full year of reliable data at its disposal with which to develop an action plan and “put pressure” on Surrey County Council.

“Solving the problem is a team effort,” he said.