ACPO Guidance on Hospitality
Leveson Inquiry · An Inquiry into the Culture, Practices and Ethics of the Press · Issued 29 November 2012 · Addressed to: Police, National Police Chiefs Council
Source — verbatim from the inquiry
●Inquiry recommendation
The recent ACPO Guidance should more specifically spell out the dangers of consuming alcohol in a setting of casual hospitality (without necessarily specifying a blanket ban).
Leveson Inquiry, An Inquiry into the Culture, Practices and Ethics of the Press · 29 Nov 2012 Source PDF →
Published evidence summary
Publicly available evidence relating to this recommendation:
- The College of Policing Code of Ethics (2014) sets out standards on gifts, gratuities and hospitality, including the principle that officers should not accept hospitality that could compromise or appear to compromise their impartiality (College of Policing, Code of Ethics, 2014).
- No published evidence that the specific guidance on alcohol consumption in settings of casual hospitality with journalists, as recommended, has been spelled out in published police guidance to March 2026.
Response — verbatim from government
●UK Government
The Prime Minister stated on 29 November 2012: "Lord Justice Leveson makes a number of recommendations that are designed to break the perception of an excessively cosy relationship between the press and the police and we support these recommendations." The College of Policing published Authorised Professional Practice on Media Relations in May 2013 implementing the police recommendations. Source: https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/david-cameron-statement-in-response-to-the-leveson-inquiry-report
UK Government · 29 Nov 2012 Written response →
Evidence trail — what's actually happened since
- 1 May 2013 · College of Policing / NPCC College of Policing guidance specifically addresses the risks of consuming alcohol in hospitality settings with media contacts. The guidance spells out the dangers without imposing a blanket ban, as Leveson recommended. View source → Confirmed Completed
Each entry above links to a primary source — gov.uk written statement, consultation response document, or inspection report. The Index does not characterise government intent; it tracks what has been published.
How this page is built
Source and Response are verbatim from primary documents. The Evidence trail records published activity since — written statements, consultation outcomes, inspection findings, parliamentary references. The Index does not paraphrase or characterise intent; it tracks what has been published. Where the evidence is the absence of action (a missed deadline, a slipped timetable), that absence is documented from primary sources rather than inferred.
This recommendation's data is verified periodically against primary sources. The Index is monitored for staleness weekly.