Officer 'arrested' over child porn

Eight Northamptonshire men have been arrested

A Northamptonshire police officer is believed to have been arrested as part of an international investigation into child pornography.

Northamptonshire Police arrested and bailed five men on suspicion of making indecent photographs at the end of last week.

The force would not comment on whether one was a serving officer.

Three more men were arrested by the force on Wednesday under Operation Ore - the investigation into UK users of a US child pornography website.

Two Cambridgeshire officers who worked on the inquiry into the deaths of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman have already been charged after being arrested in the same operation.

'Early stages'

The five men arrested last Friday are in their 30s and 40s.

Three are from Northampton, one from Kettering and one from a village in the south of the county.

The warrants were carried out under the Protection of Children Act as part of Operation Ore.

A team of 30 officers from Northamptonshire Police was involved in the operation, and seized computers and other property.

Being questioned

Northampton Police has refused to confirm or deny the reports one is a policeman.

In its statement issued at the time of the arrests, the force said: "This inquiry is at a very early stage and for operational reasons it is not appropriate for us to release any further information."

The men arrested on Wednesday morning are from Oundle, Brackley and Northampton.

They are due to be questioned at Corby and Northampton police stations later on Wednesday.