Nick Fullagar, spokesman for the British newspaper group Trinity Mirror, on Tuesday defended the conduct of their journalist Simon Wright who has been arrested in South Africa for orchestrating the entry of English fan Pavlos Joseph into the change room after a match in Cape Town.

Allegations against Wright

South African online newspaper, Timeslive.co.za, reports that South African National Police Commissioner General Bheki Cele advised a media briefing in Pretoria that Pavlos Joseph's surprise entry into the England change room was not a random act of an irate fan but rather an orchestrated event engineered by Wright and others.

In this regard Wright booked hotels for Joseph under an assumed name and thereafter harboured and interviewed him for seven days when he became the focus of the worldwide media.

According to the Times report Cele confirmed that police had "evidence that Wright had orchestrated the incident and involved the co-operation of a number of individuals". This was confirmed by CCTV footage from the English change rooms and the police investigation.

Cele said the motive was to discredit the World Cup with Wright having written several articles prior to the tournament criticising South Africa's security and calling upon people not to attend because of crime.

Cele says that several other arrests are expected.

Mirror Response

South African police said they had arrested Wright on suspicion of harbouring the fan - who was also detained - and said they believed the incident was "orchestrated". Wright interviewed the England fan for the Sunday Mirror newspaper.

"It was an absolutely legitimate story that he was involved in." said Fullgar

He believed that the journalist "conducted himself perfectly properly as he would have here in the UK. We have spoken to him and he's got a lawyer," he said, adding that he would appear in court on Wednesday morning.