A High Court judge has revealed that over 300 Metropolitan Police officers and staff have declared their membership of the Freemasons or similar “hierarchical associations” after the force mandated such disclosures last month.
The requirement stems from a December announcement by the Met, which added Freemasonry and comparable organisations to its declarable associations policy.
Under the new rules, personnel were obliged to report “past or present” membership of any group characterised by a “hierarchical, has confidential membership and requires members to support and protect each other”.
This move has, however, prompted legal action from the representative bodies for Freemasons across England, Wales, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islands.
These organisations have initiated High Court proceedings, contending that the Metâs policy is discriminatory against their members.
The United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE), also acting on behalf of the Order of Women Freemasons (OWF) and the Honourable Fraternity of Ancient Freemasons (HFAF), said last month that it was seeking an injunction to suspend the policy until the outcome of the full challenge.
In a court order on January 2, which was published on Monday, Mr Justice Chamberlain said the issue of whether to grant an injunction would be determined by a judge without a hearing this week.
He said: âThe challenged decision purports to impose a requirement to disclose involvement with Masonic and other associations.
âThe requirement is applicable immediately.
âIt is therefore important that the question of interim relief be determined relatively quickly.
âHowever, there is no pressing need for immediate interim relief at this stage, given that some 300 officers and staff have already declared their involvement in Masonic and other hierarchical associations.â
Mr Justice Chamberlain continued: âThere is no suggestion that the defendant plans to take any disciplinary action against any officer or staff member for not making a declaration in the next few weeks.â
The judge also said that the force had âagreed to consider whether to withdraw the challenged decision in the light of representationsâ from the OWF and HFAF.
The Met previously said it would ârobustly defendâ a challenge against its decision, which it said followed a survey of officers and staff that showed two-thirds of respondents felt membership of such organisations affects perception of police impartiality and public trust.
More recently, Met chief Sir Mark Rowley has pushed the plan to declare membership as part of wider moves to improve transparency in the force.
But the UGLE has previously said that the reporting requirement could undermine the public credibility of Freemasons and could breach their human rights and GDPR rules.
It also claimed that less than 5 per cent of officers and staff completed the survey on the issue.
