Man held over Deayton phone tap

A man has been arrested over allegations he tapped the home phoneline of Have I Got News For You presenter Angus Deayton, it emerged today.

The 34-year-old man, thought to be a BT engineer, was arrested on July 1 on suspicion of conspiracy to cause criminal damage to BT property and the unlawful interception of communications.

Several tape machines were found at a junction box near the home in north London Deayton shares with his partner Lise Mayer and their 18-month-old son, it is claimed.

The machines were said to have planted shortly after the News of the World printed a story saying he had taken cocaine and slept with a prostitute.

A Scotland Yard spokesman said: "The Metropolitan Police's Specialist Investigations Team arrested a 34-year-old man at a residential address in Hertfordshire.

"He was taken to a north London police station and released on police bail to return at the end of the month."