A 31 year-old serving prison officer was arrested at dawn by officers from the police operation running alongside the phone hacking investigation on Tuesday morning.

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.

Police said he was arrested at 6am in his home in Northampton on suspicion of conspiracy to corrupt, and on suspicion of misconduct in a public office. He is currently in custody at a police station in Northampton.

At Met Police spokesperson said: "Today's arrest is the result of information provided to police by News Corporation's Management Standards Committee. It relates to suspected payments to a prison officer and is not about seeking journalists to reveal confidential sources in relation to information that has been obtained legitimately."

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.

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  Rupert Murdoch: got pie on his face almost from day one. Saw his most profitable British newspaper close, leaving News International's reputation in tatters. His company News Corp now faces probes in three corners of the globe and Murdoch has revealed he won't be investing further in Britain anytime soon

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  Louise Mensch has been named as the "surprise star" of the phone hacking scandal after her persisitent questioning of James and Rupert Murdoch during a parliamentary inquiry. The Corby MP has become known for her combative style, even rowing with Piers Morgan over the scandal live on air.

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  Jeremy Hunt has been sailing into trouble over his role as Culture Secretary and links between his special advisor Adam Smith and lobbiest Frederic Michel. He was pushed into a corner during Leveson about whether or not he had been misleading about his contacts with News Corp.

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