A prison officer from Northampton was arrested today by detectives investigating alleged corrupt payments to public officials.
The 31-year-old was held at his home in Northampton this morning on suspicion of conspiracy to corrupt and misconduct in a public office.
He is the 44th person to be arrested as part of the inquiry, called Operation Elveden, which is being run alongside investigations into phone hacking and other alleged privacy breaches.
The arrest is a result of information passed to police by News Corporation’s management standards committee, Scotland Yard said.
Operation Elveden is being run alongside Operation Weeting, the inquiry into phone hacking that has seen 25 people arrested and eight people charged so far, and Operation Tuleta, the investigation into computer hacking and other privacy breaches that has seen 12 arrests.
David Cameron’s former spin doctor Andy Coulson and former News International chief executive Rebekah Brooks are among the eight charged under Operation Weeting.
They are due to appear at the Old Bailey on September 26, along with five other former News of the World journalists - ex-managing editor Stuart Kuttner, former news editor Greg Miskiw, former head of news Ian Edmondson, ex-chief reporter Neville Thurlbeck and former reporter James Weatherup.
Private investigator Glenn Mulcaire will also appear.
Brooks, her husband Charlie and four other people have also been charged with conspiring to pervert the course of justice over allegations that they removed boxes of material from the News International archive and tried to conceal documents, computers and other material from police.
A Prison Service spokeswoman said she could not comment on individual cases.
She said: “The Prison Service is committed to dealing robustly with all forms of corruption, including the unauthorised disclosure of sensitive information for financial gain. Such activity is a fundamental breach of the Civil Service Code and may constitute the criminal offence of misconduct in public office.
“We are fully supportive of Operation Elveden currently investigating the potential misconduct of public officials involved in selling information to the press. If any prison staff are identified, we will work with the police to facilitate investigations and prosecutions.
“The vast majority of staff are honest and law-abiding but we are determined to deal with those who are not.”