Three more arrested in British phone hacking probe

London: Three people were arrested this morning by investigators in an inquiry related to the phone-hacking row at media baron Rupert Murdoch’s now defunct News of the World tabloid. [caption id=“attachment_367223” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Reuters[/caption] The latest arrests were made under Operation Eleveden, which is investigating allegations of inappropriate payments to police and public officials. The Operation is being run in conjunction with Operation Weeting, the inquiry into the phone-hacking of voicemail boxes. The arrest of three people today takes the number of people arrested under Operation Elveden to 37. The three include a 46-year-old prison officer, who was arrested at his home in south-east London on suspicion of corruption, conspiracy to commit bribery and causing misconduct in a public office, police said. The second person was identified as a 50-year-old woman who was arrested at a non-residential location in Kent on suspicion of corruption, conspiracy to commit bribery and causing misconduct in a public office. The third arrest was of a 37-year-old man, who was arrested at his home address in Morden, Surrey, on suspicion of corruption, conspiracy to commit bribery and conspiracy to cause misconduct in a public office. All three are currently in custody at separate London police stations, the police added. The Metropolitan Police said the arrests related to suspected payments to a public official and were not about seeking journalists to reveal confidential sources in relation to information obtained legitimately. PTI