Leveson Report: Police officers warned over dangers of drinking with journalists Meetings between police and the press which involved alcohol "could increase the risk of gossip or inappropriate commentary," the inquiry heard, but the Appeal Court judge stopped short of calling for a blanket ban. Elizabeth Filkin, the former parliamentary commissioner for standards, called for Scotland Yard officers to stop drinking with journalists in January, saying they should be on their guard against "flirting" by reporters designed to make them "drop their defences." "No one could reasonably conclude that inappropriately lavish entertainment is or has been rife in the MPS, or that the officers involved in what may be described as the most damaging evidence were corrupt," he said. In relation to the scale of hospitality which may be appropriate, consumption of alcohol, and similar issues, it is a question of leading by example. While a "blush test" works "perfectly well for most police officers and the majority of situations," he added that "high-level national guidance consistently applied in all forces would provide further direction and set the appropriate example." Scotland Yard Commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe previously warned that if social interactions between officers and journalists were "complicated" by alcohol, "judgment is clouded and the relationship develops in another way."