They say the Met commissioner, Sir Mark Rowley, \u201cis making up the law on the hoof\u201d and accused his force of \u201cwhipping up conspiracy theories\u201d about the influence of Freemasons.<\/p>\n
The Met has vowed to fight back as it sees the policy as part of its fight to restore trust and credibility, and a case currently under investigation involves claims of masonic influence and alleged wrongdoing.<\/p>\n
In December, the Met said anyone who was part or had been a member of<\/a> a \u201chierarchical organisation that requires members to support and protect each other\u201d, must declare it.<\/p>\n Sir Mark Rowley brought in the policy to address a perceived conflict of interest by serving officers. Photograph: Chris J Ratcliffe\/Reuters<\/p>\n The force says a survey of its officers and staff shows that two-thirds backed the restriction because it \u201caffects public perception of police impartiality\u201d. There have also been past claims that masonic membership could be linked to corruption.<\/p>\n Adrian Marsh, the chief executive of the grand lodge, said he expects the hearing about the injunction will be heard by next month if not sooner. An order, if granted by a senior judge, would halt the new policy pending a full hearing of a judicial review, where the Freemasons will seek its scrapping.<\/p>\n The Freemasons allege the policy introduced in December amounts to religious discrimination as its members are required to have religious faith. They also say the Met has effectively admitted there is a need for fuller consultation.<\/p>\n Marsh said: \u201cThey did not have an effective consultation before they announced the policy, which came into immediate effect. The policy is illegal, unfair and discriminatory. It breaches the human rights of our members.\u201d<\/p>\n He added: \u201cTo date, the consultation process has been wholly inadequate, prejudicial and unjust and this injunction is the first step we must resort to, to protect our members whose integrity is impugned by the Met decision.\u201d<\/p>\n Actions under human rights law stand a better chance of success if they claim unfairness against someone because of a protected characteristic, such as race, religious beliefs or sexual orientation. The Freemasons say this applies to them.<\/p>\n Marsh said: \u201cThe fact you have to have faith to be a Freemason does make it a protected characteristic under human rights law.\u201d<\/p>\n The Freemasons say legal correspondence from the Met\u2019s lawyers shows the force agreeing to a fuller consultation about the new policy.<\/p>\n Marsh said he did not know if Met officers who were also Masons were declaring memberships to their managers: \u201cOur advice to them is to discuss any concerns with the Police Federation<\/a> who are also strongly against this policy.\u201d<\/p>\n A Metropolitan police spokesperson said: \u201cWe are aware of the judicial review launched, challenging our change to the declarable association policy. We will be defending this.<\/p>\n \u201cThe changes to our declarable associations policy were made following feedback that involvement in these types of organisations could call impartiality into question or give rise to conflict of loyalties. We won\u2019t be commenting further while proceedings are ongoing.\u201d<\/p>\n The issue of Freemasons in the Met has been long-running, but previous commissioners have either thought tougher rules were not justified or not worth the pain.<\/p>\n The Guardian also understands that a recent case of alleged wrongdoing in the force contains allegations that acts under investigation may be linked to Freemasonry.<\/p>\n The Met has held intelligence for years of potential corruption linked to personal relationships formed through membership of the Freemasons, but nothing has been proven to a criminal standard.<\/p>\n The issue has dogged policing, with numerous allegations that Freemasonry membership has led to people covering up for wrongdoing in keeping the organisation\u2019s credo that members stand by one another.<\/p>\n The official inquiry into the 1987 murder of the private investigator Daniel Morgan<\/a> and police corruption that hampered the hunt to find his killers recommended tighter rules on Freemasons in policing.<\/p>\n It noted that one detective involved was a Freemason who later went to work with a prime suspect, and that \u201c10 police officers who were prominent in the Daniel Morgan murder investigations were Freemasons\u201d.<\/p>\n But it also stated: \u201cThe panel has not seen evidence that masonic channels were corruptly used in connection with either the commission of the murder or to subvert the police investigations.\u201d<\/p>\n Police lodges have been set up, such as the Manor of St James\u2019s for Met officers, and Sine Favore, which was set up in 2010 by Police<\/a> Federation members.<\/p>\n Quick GuideContact us about this storyShow The best public interest journalism relies on first-hand accounts from people in the know.<\/p>\n If you have something to share on this subject, you can contact us confidentially using the following methods.<\/p>\n Secure Messaging in the Guardian app<\/strong><\/p>\n The Guardian app has a tool to send tips about stories. Messages are end to end encrypted and concealed within the routine activity that every Guardian mobile app performs. This prevents an observer from knowing that you are communicating with us at all, let alone what is being said.<\/p>\n If you don’t already have the Guardian app, download it (iOS<\/a>\/Android<\/a>) and go to the menu. Select \u2018Secure Messaging\u2019. <\/p>\n SecureDrop, instant messengers, email, telephone and post<\/strong><\/p>\n If you can safely use the Tor network without being observed or monitored, you can send messages and documents to the Guardian via our SecureDrop platform<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1767010582_8_4000.jpg\")
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