Phone Hacking: prison officer among trio arrested in illegal payments inquiry Both are being questioned at a police station in Northamptonshire. A 31-year-old man, who is understood to be a Sun journalist, was arrested at his home in Croydon, Surrey, on suspicion of conspiracy to corrupt and suspicion of conspiracy to cause misconduct in a public office. He is being questioned at a south London police station. Today's arrests bring the number of suspects held in connection with Operation Elveden to 33. Scotland Yard said the arrests are the result of information provided by News Corporation's Management Standards Committee (MSE). A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: "They relate to suspected payments to a public official and are not about seeking journalists to reveal confidential sources in relation to information that has been obtained legitimately. The arrests come just a day after former News International chief executive Rebekah Brooks and her racehorse trainer husband Charlie made their first appearance in court on charges relating to the phone hacking scandal. Police launched Operation Weeting, the inquiry devoted specifically to phone hacking, after receiving "significant new information" from News International on January 26 last year. Operation Elveden was launched months later after officers were given documents suggesting News International journalists made illegal payments to police officers. Officers also launched three related operations: the Sasha inquiry into allegations of perverting the course of justice; Kilo, an inquiry into police leaks; and Tuleta, the investigation into computer-related offences, as the inquiry escalated. Metropolitan Police figures showed there were 829 potential victims of phone hacking, of whom 231 were said to be uncontactable. The scandal has already led to the closure of the News of the World after 168 years, prompted a major public inquiry, and forced the resignation of Met Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson and his assistant John Yates.