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Agence France-Presse

A UK court on Tuesday denied a legal challenge brought by the Freemasons against a new London police policy requiring officers to declare membership of the historically secretive society.
In a 17-page judgment handed down at London’s High Court, judge Martin Chamberlain said the Metropolitan Police’s policy “serves a legitimate aim, maintaining and enhancing public trust in policing, and is proportionate”.
He said the grounds of the challenge were not “reasonably arguable”, and the policy was not discriminatory or “unduly stigmatising” against Freemasons.
He refused permission for the claimants to apply for a judicial review and an interim order suspending the disclosure requirement.
The challenge had been brought by the United Grand Lodge of England, the Order of Women Freemasons, the Honourable Fraternity of Ancient Freemasons, and two serving Metropolitan Police officers.

Under the rule, introduced in December, all officers and staff must disclose whether they are, or have ever been, Freemasons.
Around 400 officers and staff have so far made declarations, the court was told.
At a hearing on Wednesday, lawyers for three Masonic bodies and two serving officers said the policy amounts to creating a discriminatory “blacklist”.
Claire Darwin, representing the claimants, told the court the force was compiling a list that could later be cross-referenced in promotions, misconduct proceedings or vetting decisions.
“The aim of the Metropolitan Police is to create a blacklist of Freemasons that they will then use to assess risk,” she said.
Darwin said that the Metropolitan Police’s own policy classified Freemasonry membership as “low risk”, and questioned whether that was consistent with the sweeping nature of the new requirement.
She argued it had already had a “chilling effect”, with some members deterred from joining lodges.

James Berry, for the Metropolitan Police, said the legal challenge was “misconceived”, and the suggestion of a blacklist was “plainly wrong”.
Declaration data was held confidentially by a small number of professional standards officers, he said, and officers remained free to join or remain Freemasons.
He added there was “no evidence” that those who had declared had suffered stigma or workplace discrimination.
Freemasonry is a centuries-old fraternal movement organised into local “lodges”, promoting principles such as charity, mutual support and moral self-improvement, using private rituals and a hierarchical structure.
Although Masonic groups say they are not secret but discreet, critics have long associated them with elite networks and influence within public institutions.
The declaration policy was brought in following recommendations from an independent panel, which in 2021 criticised the force’s culture and transparency after decades of failed inquiries into the 1987 murder of private investigator Daniel Morgan.
While the panel did not find systemic corruption linked to Freemasonry, it highlighted public concern about undisclosed Masonic membership within police forces.


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Freemasons had challenged the policy, saying that it amounted to creating a discriminatory ‘blacklist’


Freemasons had challenged the policy, saying that it amounted to creating a discriminatory ‘blacklist’.


Metropolitan Police

London

UK court backs London police rule forcing officers to declare Freemasonry

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Freemasons had challenged the policy, saying that it amounted to creating a discriminatory ‘blacklist’

Freemasons had challenged the policy, saying that it amounted to creating a discriminatory ‘blacklist’