A 51-year-old police officer has been arrested by detectives investigating alleged corrupt payments to public officials.

The man was held around 6am at his home in Wiltshire on suspicion of misconduct in public office and is being interviewed.

He is based at the Metropolitan Police's Territorial Policing Command in west London.

The officer is the 61st person arrested under Operation Elveden, Scotland Yard's investigation into alleged inappropriate payments by journalists to public officials.

His arrest is a result of information provided to police by News Corporation's Management and Standards Committee and relates to the suspected release of confidential information.

Of those arrested under Elveden, nine people have been charged so far.
The operation is being run alongside two other investigations, Operation Weeting, the inquiry into alleged phone hacking, and Operation Tuleta, a probe into computer hacking and other alleged privacy breaches.

Yesterday six former News of the World journalists were arrested as part of a new line of inquiry into phone hacking that is separate from allegations under Operation Weeting.

The three men and three women were all held over a suspected conspiracy that took place between around 2005 and 2006, and have all been bailed until mid-May.

They are understood to be Jules Stenson, Matt Nixson, Rav Singh, Jane Atkinson, Polly Graham and Rachel Richardson. Ms Richardson and Ms Atkinson both work for The Sun.

Detectives now plan to speak to people that may have been victims of the suspected phone hacking.