New police guidelines on dealing with the press, hospitality and business interests will roll out later this year, the Leveson Inquiry has heard.Chief Constable Mike Cunningham, head of the Association of Chief Police Officers’ professional standards portfolio, said three sets of ACPO guidance would be ready in draft form next month for consultation.He said: “We clearly, I think, acknowledge and agree with HMIC that national guidance is required in these areas. We previously haven’t had national standards in relation to the three areas I’ve discussed.“What will be a challenge will be to phrase that guidance in such a way as it can be applied to very different circumstances, yet sufficiently detailed to be meaningful. That’s the balance were trying to strike.”He added: “We are heartened but absolutely not complacent by the fact that HMIC , IPCC and other people who have scrutinised the police agree that corruption and malpractice is not endemic or systematic. However, the actions of individuals – particularly senior individuals – can be highly damaging.”Cunningham, who heads the Staffordshire Police force, said unauthorised handling of information is a significant risk for the police. He told the inquiry family and friends were the highest risk in terms of unlawful disclosure of information by officers, along with former colleagues – with journalists identified as a lower risk.Ian Fegan, head of corporate communications for Staffordshire, said less than five percent of media enquiries came from the national media, compared to 39 per cent from the three daily papers in the county.Cunningham said he would be “very disappointed” if all press enquiries were funnelled through the press office.He added: “I’m seeking a much more organic relationship with the press, which allows officers who are closest to the issues to be able to speak to the press about what those issues are, and what we’re doing about them. It’s part of our accountability.”The inquiry heard from Ben Priestley, from Unison, who said officers often lacked confidence to expose wrongdoing in police forces around the country. He said working environments could be “hierarchical and authoritarian” and work needed to be done to review whistleblowing mechanisms for officers.He said Unison, who represent approximately half the working officers in each force, bar the Met and City of London police, said the union saw no place for private dinners and hospitality within the service.Julie Norgrove, director of audit risk and assurance for the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime, said gifts and hospitality received by Met staff had been catergorised as risky in internal audits for several years.She said the hospitality register had been reviewed five times in 11 years and staff did not always provide proper justification for gifts despite the logging systems.