England's Masons Lose High Court Challenge Against Metropolitan Police Disclosure Policy

by Christopher Hodapp

The witch hunt will continue until further notice, I'm afraid.

The United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE), the Order of Women Freemasons, the Honourable Fraternity of Ancient Freemasons, and two London Metropolitan Police(Met) officers who are Freemasons have had their request for judicial review rejected by the High Court. Their challenge targeted the Met’s Declarable Associations Policy, introduced in December 2025, which requires all officers and staff to confidentially declare past or present membership in “Masonic orders or appendant bodies” — or any similar organization with confidential membership, hierarchical structures, and mutual support obligations. 

Officers not complying can be dismissed for misconduct.

The policy was driven by recommendations from the 2021 Daniel Morgan Independent Panel report into the unsolved 1987 murder of private investigator Daniel Morgan and long-promoted concerns about "public perception" of police impartiality among Masonic cops. Although the panel found no evidence that Freemasonry influenced the murder investigations, it described Masonic membership as “a source of recurring suspicion and mistrust.” The Met argued that requiring declaration of Masonic membership serves the purported goal of maintaining and enhancing public trust in policing. 

Claire Darwin, a lawyer arguing for the plaintiffs, said the Met's decision allowed it to create a "black list," calling the move an "institutional signal of suspicion" which breached Freemasons' human rights and was based on 'limited, opaque and heavily perception-driven' evidence. She added the police appeared to rely on 'long-standing conspiracy theories and/or prejudicial tropes about Freemasons' as a reason to introduce the measure.

Regardless, Mr. Justice Chamberlain ruled on Tuesday that the measure is proportionate and that fears of discrimination and human rights breaches against Masonic officers were not "reasonably arguable." In his 17-page ruling on Tuesday, he claimed the policy's purpose was "eliminating the potential for actual bias, where officers discharge their functions improperly, and perceived bias, where there is a perception or suspicion that officers are discharging their functions improperly."

Perception. Potential for. Perceived. In other words, imaginary.

Says the fellow whose reputation isn't at risk purely because of his private membership in the world's oldest fraternal organization that stresses honor, adherence to the cardinal virtues, square dealing, and acting on the level. 

A lopsided survey taken in January of a small proportion of police officers in the Met showed concern that involvement in the Freemasons could "compromise impartiality or create conflicts of loyalty." After publicly flogging this nonsense for decades now, I'm not surprised. But not a single situation investigated by authorities over the last 50 years has ever proved that Masonic police officers have conspired to cover up misdeeds, promoted each other, or engaged in any other kind of improper behavior. There have only been assertions and allegations by non-Masons that never pan out to have any merit. But someone always runs to the press with their allegations of imaginary horribles and the headlines trumpet the claims in 96 pt. type with plenty of exclamation marks.

In the UK, many Masons do not publicize their membership in professional settings to avoid unfounded prejudice or baseless assumptions from fellow colleagues. In this atmosphere, stoked by the media and a sensationalistic press that has promoted Masonic conspiracy theories for almost a half century now, any police officer who declares himself to be a Mason is immediately regarded with suspicion for... something. From now on, any criminal who wants to allege that he was framed or mistreated by a Met officer need only find out that the poor plod is a bloody Mason to get an early release. Any fellow officer who gets passed over for promotion need only discover that the guy who DID get promoted rolls up his trouser leg and straps on an apron on Thursday nights to immediately lodge a discrimination complaint. And any fool can see this is exactly what will begin happening.

UGLE has announced it will not appeal the judgment, saying, despite what it views as legal and factual errors in the ruling, an appeal would not be in the best interests of Freemasonry.

#EnoughIsEnough

English Freemasons Seek Injunction Against London Police Reporting Rule

by Christopher Hodapp

The United Grand Lodge of England in cooperation with the two primary English female Masonic grand lodges have filed for an injunction against the London Metropolitan Police over its new requirement that the MET's Freemason police officers report their private membership to their superiors.

Since December 11th, the MET have required that London city police officers declare their membership in the Freemasons, claiming that "involvement in these types of organizations could call impartiality into question or give rise to conflict of loyalties."

The only other groups required to declare themselves to the MET's administration are people with criminal convictions, those who have been dismissed from policing, and lawful professions such as private investigation or journalism. Grouping the Masons with criminals and dismissed officers brands members of the fraternity as being somehow nefarious. Yet, after more than 40 years of anti-Masonic paranoia swirling around UK police, there has never been any proof of Masonic police officers acting improperly as a group. 

That England's Freemasons are the second largest charitable group in that country who contribute millions of pounds each year to their communities is immaterial to the MET's leadership. 

From the UGLE First Rising newsletter on Sunday:

The United Grand Lodge of England (“UGLE”), also acting on behalf of The Order of Women Freemasons and the Honourable Fraternity of Ancient Freemasons (all of which together represent Freemasonry in England, Wales, The Isle of Man and the Channel Islands), announces that it has commenced proceedings against the Metropolitan Police (the “Met”) seeking an injunction requiring the Met to suspend application of its new policy requiring police officers and staff to disclose whether they are, or have been Freemasons.

The new Met policy was announced on 11 December 2025. On 16 December, UGLE wrote to the Met seeking a judicial review of the decision unless its implementation was suspended immediately to allow a full consultation on the policy. The Met has now agreed to full consultation but is not willing to suspend the policy’s introduction. The injunction therefore seeks suspension of the policy pending the outcome of the judicial review.

UGLE has made clear its opposition to the Met regarding any intended action to introduce a reporting requirement that has the potential to undermine public credibility of male and female Freemasons, or that could impact negatively on its members, or the contribution that they make to society. It believes that mandatory declaration breaches the fundamental rights of the organisations and their members and is also in breach of the Equality Act 2010 and UK GDPR.

Commenting today Adrian Marsh, Grand Secretary of UGLE, said:
“There is a contradiction between the Met acceptance of our request for fuller consultation, which we welcome, but then refusing to suspend the decision pending the outcome of that consultation. To 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.”

Previous attempts by English police departments in the 1990s and early 2000s to force Masonic officers to disclose their memberships have been struck down in courts as being prejudicial and discriminatory, and the European Court of Human Rights declared such previous laws in both England and Italy to be in violation of rights to free association. Forcing officers to declare their Masonic membership will open the floodgates to criminals claiming Masonic influence in their cases, disgruntled fellow employees passed over for promotions, claims of favoritism and other dodgy behavior. This in spite of the fact that all Masons are sworn to uphold the laws of their own lands and to not countenance unlawful behavior. Declaring their Masonic membership invites anti-Masonic paranoia, revenge and false accusations, placing their jobs at risk. 

Meanwhile, the press accounts of this dispute between the MET and the UGLE have gone out of their way to mention false allegations of purported Masonic involvement in decades-old police corruption investigations in almost every story published in the last few weeks. Note this headline in the Independent today, clearly trying to associate FREEMASONS! with AXE MURDERERS! before the article even begins:

(For a recap of the historical anti-Masonic claims, conspiracies and paranoia regarding English police departments over the decades, see https://freemasonsfordummies.blogspot.com/2025/09/london-police-league-is-hunting-masons.html )

UGLE and Female Masons Take Legal Action Against London Police

by Christopher Hodapp

The United Grand Lodge of England, Order of Women Freemasons, and Honourable Fraternity of Ancient Freemasons have collectively decided to launch legal action against the Metropolitan Police to address what they consider to be an unlawful, discriminatory, and unfair move in requiring all officers to declare their private Masonic membership, whether past or present. (These developments were reported HERE and HERE last week.) They have just filed a request for judicial review in the High Court.

The following statement from UGLE, OWF & HFAF has been shared with the media and was circulated very early this morning (Eastern Time). They have also issued a companion video explaining their objections (click above for YouTube):

FREEMASONS LAUNCH LEGAL ACTION 

AGAINST METROPOLITAN POLICE

The United Grand Lodge of England (“UGLE”), also acting on behalf of The Order of Women Freemasons and the Honourable Fraternity of Ancient Freemasons (all of which together represent Freemasonry in England, Wales, The Isle of Man and the Channel Islands) announces that it has sent a letter before claim in respect of judicial review proceedings against the Metropolitan Police (the “Met”) in response to the Met’s announcement on 11 December 2025 that it has added Freemasonry to its list of declarable associations.

The result of the Met’s new decision is that police officers and police staff who are, or have been, Freemasons will be compelled to inform the Met of their membership and that this will now be a mandatory declaration in its vetting procedures.

While acknowledging recent concerns over police vetting procedures, UGLE considers this decision to be unlawful, unfair and discriminatory against Freemasons, and considers the consultation process which has been followed by the Met to be wholly inadequate, prejudicial and unjust.

UGLE has made clear its concerns to the Met regarding any intended action to introduce a reporting requirement that has the potential to undermine public credibility of male and female Freemasons, or that could impact negatively on its members, or the contribution that they make to society. It believes that mandatory declaration breaches the fundamental rights of the organisations and their members and is also in breach of the Equality Act 2010 and UK GDPR.

Accordingly, UGLE has written to the Met setting out its intention to seek a judicial review of the decision unless its implementation is suspended immediately.

Commenting on behalf of the United Grand Lodge of England, the Order of Women Freemasons and the Honourable Fraternity of Ancient Freemasons, Adrian Marsh, Grand Secretary of UGLE, said:

“Freemasonry has the highest moral and ethical standards – standards that have been a cornerstone of its identity since the earliest days of organised Freemasonry over 300 years ago. Our members embody our core values of integrity, friendship, respect and service – and this can be seen across London, the rest of the country, through tireless work within our communities to help those in need. Within individual Lodges, we enjoy the timeless traditions that make our organisation unique around the globe.

The decision by the Metropolitan Police casts an aura of mistrust over the entire Freemason community. Given the obvious, detrimental impact on our members, United Grand Lodge of England, Order of Women Freemasons and Honourable Fraternity of Ancient Freemasons consider that we now have no choice but to take legal action to challenge this unlawful decision.

We do not take this decision lightly but feel that we are left with no other options, in order to defend the rights of those in our membership, both male and female, present and past, that serve the people of London loyally in any capacity under the banner of the Metropolitan Police.”

Openness of UGLE and Freemasonry

United Grand Lodge of England, Order of Women Freemasons and Honourable Fraternity of Ancient Freemasons are aware of misconceptions regarding Freemasonry stretching back over a number of decades. In response to this, over the last 30 years, UGLE has carried out significant work to address these misconceptions, bringing public perceptions up to date through increased openness and disclosure about its values and its work in society and for charity.

The success of this work has been borne out by its increased popularity in recent years, especially in attracting younger members, and the number of visitors we have each day to our building in Covent Garden.

The consultation process followed by the Met

Since the consultation was published on the Met website on 29 September 2025 under the title, “Consultation on Freemasonry becoming a declarable association”, UGLE has sought to communicate its position to the Met during two in-person meetings with Commander Simon Messinger and in correspondence with the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, Sir Mark Rowley. UGLE considers the level of engagement from the Met and the limited justification it has put forward for the decision to be wholly inadequate.

UGLE has made it clear throughout that it has been willing to engage with the consultation, but it was never given the information to enable it to do so meaningfully and fairly.

UGLE is, therefore, extremely disappointed that the Met has reached this decision without a fair consultation process, or any direct engagement with it, or proper notice, on the reasons for this decision. The Met’s failure properly to consult and to publish this new requirement with immediate effect is particularly troubling in circumstances where the Met had agreed to consult fully prior to making any decision and when such a decision affects the regard in which Freemasons are held. It is likewise highly unusual that the Met would not consider any alternative solutions in the knowledge that expensive legal action must follow.

Public statements from the Met since 11 December 2025

In its statement released on 11 December 2025, the Met referred to the reporting requirement being introduced for “hierarchical organisations that require members to support and protect each other” and so being added to the Met’s declarable associations policy. In that statement, the Met also stated that it had discussed the change in policy with UGLE.

UGLE considers these statements to be misleading:

•  On the Met statement that Freemasons are, “required to support and protect each other” the Met has omitted the true nature of this obligation which is importantly qualified in Freemasonry, where it is primarily a moral one, and the level of support is expected to be within one's ability and without detriment to one's own family or one's duty to the law of the land. Without this explanation, the phrase used by the Met is misleading and capable of misinterpretation. Furthermore, it disregards similar commitments made in most religions, albeit without the same additional aspect of respecting the law of the land.
• On the Met statement that “Senior officers have discussed the results of the staff consultation and our decision with the United Grand Lodge of England, which is the headquarters of Freemasonry in England and Wales, as well as the Police Federation and other representative bodies”, the Met implies that effective consultation has taken place. This is not the case.

Regarding the stated evidence base for the decision:

• The Met has provided inconsistent and insufficient data - the Met says a survey sent to all c.40.000 Metropolitan Police officers and staff, but completed by less than 5% of them, is enough to justify this move. Meanwhile, the Met subsequently claimed in a radio interview on LBC with Sir Mark Rowley that two-thirds of members supported the change. This statement was not included in the Met statement of 11 December 2025.
• The Met says that internal intelligence has made this move necessary; however, this intelligence is not public and should be to enable proper public scrutiny.
• The Met says that female police officers and staff have welcomed this announcement - although there is no evidence to support this statement and no explanation being provided for the reasoning behind the decision to the thousands of female Freemasons across the country.

UGLE also believes that the use of the description, “hierarchical associations” by the Met is intended to imply a broad constituency of potentially declarable associations, while the real focus of the new policy is on Freemasons alone, and that the description used is, therefore, disingenuous.

Further, the Met states that it is addressing longstanding concerns over secrecy of any members’ organisation. However, Freemasonry is not a secret organisation, being similar to many organisations where membership is private and regulated under the GDPR legislation. Indeed, unlike most other private organizations, UGLE publishes a list of its c.4,000 most senior members, which is available for purchase from the Shop at Freemasons’ Hall, which is open to the general public daily.

Action to be taken by UGLE

In the light of the legal position, the failure of the Met consultation process, and in order to prevent damage to members, UGLE (also acting on behalf of The Order of Women Freemasons and the Honourable Fraternity of Ancient Freemasons) intends to seek a judicial review of the decision in the High Court and has sent a “letter before claim” to the Met outlining the action it intends to take.

Statement from the Metropolitan Police Federation

UGLE notes the statement made by the Metropolitan Police Federation (“MPF”) on 11 December 2025 that, “forcing police officers to declare their membership in the Freemasons could violate their human rights and is an “unnecessary and wrong” policy. The MPF also questioned the timing and enforceability of the new policy, highlighting that the issue had been debated over decades.

UGLE also notes that the intention to introduce any reporting requirement in the past had always been ruled unlawful.

London's Metropolitan Police Demand Masonic Membership Declarations – One More Time

by Christopher Hodapp

Here we go again. London's Metropolitan Police (MET) have officially decided to force all police officers to declare their Masonic membership – whether past or present – in spite of ongoing protests from the United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE). We've seen this program before and the rerun isn't any better. This has been an on-again, off-again situation in England ever since the 1990s, in spite of the fact that there has never been a shred of evidence that police officers, lawyers or judges have given preferential treatment or done favors for Brother Masons.

From today's announcement:

Hierarchical organisations added to declarable association policy

Hierarchical organisations that require members to support and protect each other have been added to the Met’s declarable associations policy.

Freemasonry has been formally included, and other organisations will be added as and when information indicates they need to be.

The move follows a consultation of officers and staff which showed two thirds of those who responded felt membership of such organisations affects perception of police impartiality and public trust.

Commander Simon Messinger, Professionalism, said: “Successive leaders of the Met have considered for many years whether we need to amend our declarable association policy, particularly in relation to Freemasonry.

“After such conclusive results from our consultation, we have decided now is the right time to address long-standing concerns and that public and staff confidence must take precedence over the secrecy of any membership organisation.

“Our decision does not mean any member of staff cannot join the Freemasons or another similar organisation.

“But we have acted on feedback that involvement in these types of organisations could call impartiality into question or give rise to conflict of loyalties.

“Strengthening the trust both our own staff and London’s communities have in the Met is a core part of our New Met for London plan and ambitions.” 

Officers and staff already have to declare any association with an individual, group or organisation that might compromise their integrity, pose a risk to operations or intelligence or that could damage the reputation of the Met and, as a result, public confidence. Doing so allows for risks to be assessed, managed and mitigated.  

Until now there have been only a few specific examples of declarable associations set out in the policy. These include people with criminal convictions, those who have been dismissed from policing, and lawful professions such as private investigation or journalism.  

In 2021, the Daniel Morgan Independent Panel recommended that officers and staff should be required to declare membership of organisations, including the Freemasons, that could present a potential conflict of interest. Similar recommendations have been made at various points in the past.  

The Met had been of the view that the existing policy on declarable associations was sufficient. However, we continued to receive intelligence reports and general expressions of concern from officers and staff worried about the impact, whether real or perceived, membership of such an organisation could be having on investigations, promotions and misconduct. The number of such reports has been relatively low, but they must be taken seriously. 

From Thursday, 11 December, officers and staff are required to declare a membership, past or present, of any potentially influential organisation that is hierarchical, has confidential membership and requires members to support and protect each other. Freemasonry is named as one of those organisations that must be declared, and if we have intelligence about other organisations in the future they may also be specifically added.

Senior officers have discussed the results of the staff consultation and our decision with the United Grand Lodge of England which is the headquarters of Freemasonry in England and Wales, as well as the Police Federation and other representative bodies.

The complete text can be found HERE. 

Reported cases are "relatively low." No evidence, no actual cited cases, only perception. That perception in the public consciousness has been driven by negative press reporting for more than 35 years, most of which originated in paranoiac anti-Masonic works like Stephen Knight's execrable The Brotherhood in 1984. Knight put forth his addled belief in a vast, secret network of secret Freemasons secretly secreted within police forces, courtrooms, law firms, and the prison system who secretly conspire to secretly commit crimes, hide their own transgressions, pardon criminals, and promote each other by giving each other secret signs, dodgy handshakes, and hopping about with rolled up trouser legs. Ever since his completely unsupported nonsense was published, nearly every time there's a situation involving possible police misconduct in England, someone will doubtless pop off with the accusation, "The bloody Freemasons in the police are to blame!"

Knight's absurd waste of pulp set in motion conspiracy theories alleging everything from a Masonic Jack the Ripper (as dramatized in the movies Murder By Decree and From Hell), to the sinking of the Titanic (yes, really). There was an alleged police cover-up regarding a 1989 football stadium riot in Hillsborough (it took 27 years of investigating Hillsborough before several commissions finally gave up on finding ANY Masonic connection to the stampede and death of 96 people). There have also been countless unfounded claims over the decades that Masons have only promoted Brother Masons within the ranks of police departments all over the country. Time after time it's found simply that these cases are brought by disgruntled employees over being passed over for advancement. 

Most of the news stories today have been certain to mention an unsolved murder case from 40 years ago. Daniel Morgan, a private investigator who was looking into police corruption at the MET, was axe murdered in 1987, just three years after the release of Stephen Knight's fairy tale book. Rumors at the time began gaining traction that Morgan had gotten 'too close to the truth' about nefarious activities in the police and was done in by – you guessed it - Freemason cops. The case was never solved; no Masons or cops were accused; and even a new commission report in 2021 didn't say that Masons actually had anything to do with it. They did, however, come to the following meaningless conclusion: that police officers' involvement with the Freemasons had been a "source of recurring suspicion and mistrust in the investigations." They didn't obstruct, they didn't actually do anything at all. It was merely others' perceptions of what the Freemasons may have been up to. And those perceptions were shaped and percolated by Knight's sensationalistic claims, all of which were unfounded, but were breathlessly splashed across both the mainstream press and the tabloids at the time.

In fact, I'll bet a groat that this latest burst of "Bloody Masons In The Police!" mania was stirred up by J.K.Rowling's recent mystery novel, written under the pen name of 'Robert Galbraith,' entitled The Hallmarked Man. Rowling aka Galbraith wrote a tedious, plodding, dull-as-dirt,  900-page (not a misprint) doorstop novel that culminates with crooked cops who are SURPRISE! Freemasons. She managed to write a book about the Masons that's both longer and more boring than Pike's Morals & Dogma. (Don't get fooled by the appearance of London's Freemasons Hall on the cover. If I ever finally make it to the end of the damn thing, I'll review it here. But please don't waste your hard-earned cash on it just because it's "about the Masons." You'll only get mad.)

Apparently, the MET's line, "Senior officers have discussed the results of the staff consultation and our decision with the United Grand Lodge of England which is the headquarters of Freemasonry in England and Wales" is utter crap. Or if not utter crap, it's certainly news to the UGLE.

The UGLE quickly responded to today's announcement with the following statement:

The United Grand Lodge of England (“UGLE”), the home of Freemasonry in England, Wales and the Channel Islands, notes today’s announcement by the Metropolitan Police that it will now require mandatory declaration of membership of Freemasonry as a declarable association, meaning that male and female officers and staff who are Freemasons will be compelled to inform the Met of this.

Whilst aware of recent concerns over police vetting procedures, UGLE considers this policy decision to be unlawful, disproportionate, unfair and discriminatory.

UGLE has endeavoured to engage constructively and openly with the Met on this matter over recent weeks and is most disappointed that it has reached this decision without a genuine dialogue or any direct engagement with UGLE on the substantive reasons which affect the integrity and the positive regard in which our members are held.

Commenting on behalf of the United Grand Lodge of England, the Order of Women Freemasons and the Honourable Fraternity of Ancient Freemasons, Adrian Marsh said:

“We are disappointed that a decision which potentially affects our members has been taken without open or effective consultation. Our values of Integrity, Friendship, Respect and Service are paramount in Freemasonry and have never been of more importance. We see this action as unwarranted, and we are carefully considering an appropriate response. We will issue a further statement in due course.”

What's truly enraging about this latest go round is that press accounts are gleefully repeating that previously, MET officers were only required to declare any association with an individual or group that might compromise their integrity or damage the reputation of the force. That included associating with people with criminal convictions, those dismissed from policing and those working in lawful professions such as private investigation or journalism. This new policy singles out the Freemasons alone as being in any way comparable to associating with those criminals or fired cops.

The problem has ALWAYS been that anti-Masonic prejudices and open hatreds are so widespread throughout the UK and Europe. Once employees of ANY profession are required to openly declare their Masonic membership, they are opening themselves up to retribution and risking their jobs. Anti-Masons will use their membership as an excuse to allege misconduct of all kinds. Criminals will accuse Masonic cops of no end of imaginary conspiracies. Non-Masonic officers will accuse Masonic supervisors of favoritism and prejudice. It's happened countless times in the past. When you see the comments following news stories about the Masons in the English papers, it's almost a given that at least one anonymous commenter will pipe up with, "My old man was passed over for a pay rise because of the bloody Masons!" Now the MET has made it even simpler to make unfounded claims against fellow officers, based solely on their Masonic membership.

When rules were passed in both the U.K. and Italy in the early 2000s requiring members of law enforcement and the judiciary to disclose their Masonic membership, they were struck down by the European Court of Human Rights as discriminatory. Apparently the MET has a short institutional memory. With all of the civil unrest going in across the U.K. these days, it's unfathomable why the MET is wasting its resources hunting Masonic boogymen under the bedclothes. It will be curious to see what the UGLE's next move will be to protect its members.

Britain's Council For Freemasonry Responds To Yesterday's Spectator Editorial

by Christopher L. Hodapp

Great Britain's Council For Freemasonry has responded to yesterday's idiotic editorial in The Spectator, “There’s something vulgar about Freemasons” by Irish 'journalist' Melanie McDonagh.

It reads, in part:

As Freemasons, we have become accustomed to inaccurate and unfair representations of our organisation and members – but this article, sadly, reaches a new and deliberate low.

Particularly surprising was the distasteful focus on Freemasons’ Hall, a war memorial built in 1933 to remember the thousands of Freemasons that so valiantly made the Ultimate Sacrifice for this country in the First World War. This memorial, funded by Freemasons themselves, stands as a reminder of those brave men – with the Art Deco splendour a fitting tribute to their memory. In her article, Ms McDonagh chooses to describe these trappings as “vulgar”. It should be clear, that we will never apologise for the reverence with which we remember them, or for the unique and historic relationship that we enjoy with the Armed Forces.

Sadly, the article also lists several further inaccuracies. According to Ms McDonagh, Catholics aren’t allowed to be Freemasons. This is, of course, a complete falsehood. We are proud to be an organisation with people from all faiths, including Catholics. In fact, Freemasonry remains one of the very few institutions that celebrates this diversity so fervently, as a cornerstone of who we are. It is common to find Christians, Muslims, Jews, Hindus, Sikhs, and all faiths, sat together in a Freemasons’ Lodge – enjoying each other’s company. This is something that should be celebrated and inaccurate representations such as the one featured in this article, do nothing but encourage unnecessary disharmony and upset.

The rules of Freemasonry are perfectly clear – it is strictly forbidden for any Freemason to have any kind of financial or professional gain from their membership. Such an occurrence would likely see that individual face disciplinary proceedings and expulsion.

The charitable work to which Ms McDonagh alludes, for the awareness of the readers of The Spectator, is indeed tireless, and equated to £26.3 million in 2023/24. Our engagement in our communities is not just restricted to financial support. We have calculated that Freemasons conduct over 18 million hours of volunteering a year. This was particularly prevalent during the pandemic, where Freemasons were key to the national effort by acting as marshals at vaccination centres, as well as in assisting the elderly through the delivery of key provisions.

Our members are actively encouraged to talk openly about their membership of Freemasonry and to talk with pride about it, whilst raising awareness of what we do. To be clear, we are not supportive of mandatory disclosure of membership of ourselves or any other unjustifiable restrictions on our members' right to privacy and to freedom of association. 

Despite the misrepresentations of our organisation and members, Freemasonry, as it has done for the last 300 years, will continue to provide a space for men and women to enjoy the camaraderie, tradition, and togetherness that it offers. Freemasonry continues to evolve, but its guiding principles of integrity, friendship, and service remain unchanged.

The Council for Freemasonry is a cooperative association made up representatives of the United Grand Lodge of England, The Order of Women Freemasons, The Grand Lodge of Scotland, and The Honourable Fraternity of Ancient Freemasons. The Council was formed in 2024, in part, to respond publicly whenever the fraternity of Freemasonry is given a black eye in the media or is discriminated against by government bodies.

In a press release at that time, the Council described itself:

Even in 2024 Freemasonry continues to face various unfounded criticisms and inaccurate misconceptions, often stemming from deep-rooted prejudices, or preconceived falsehoods. Contrary to the erroneous claim that Freemasonry is exclusively male, women’s Freemasonry has been an integral part of Freemasonry in the UK for over a century. While Freemasonry is practised in single-sex Lodges, this is no different from many other activities, including most sports as well as many other community groups.

The establishment of the Council for Freemasonry will formally establish an overarching forum for collaboration. In addition, the Council will bring together the community service ambitions of all three bodies, coordinate communication and engagement with other organisations, drive the membership growth ambitions, particularly for women Freemasons, and allocate resources and facilities for the general benefit of both male and female Freemasonry.

The Council will include the heads of each Grand Lodge, and each Grand Lodge will provide the President for a twelve-month period, chairing Council meetings in strict rotation. The President for the first two years will come from the OWF and HFAF, with UGLE covering the third year. 

The formation of the Council for Freemasonry in England and Wales marks a pivotal step towards enhancing cooperation, addressing misconceptions, and promoting the values of Freemasonry. This historic initiative reaffirms Freemasonry’s commitment to integrity, friendship, respect and service, while keeping community service and charitable giving at the absolute forefront of this historic organisation.

Since then, the Grand Lodge of Scotland has also joined the Council. 

With yesterday's development concerning yet another attempt to force police officers in London's Metropolitan Police to declare their private Masonic membership, it's clear the Council's reason for existing continues to be important, I'm sad to say.

Scotland Yard Is Hunting Masons Under The Bed... Again

by Christopher L. Hodapp

THIS STORY HAS BEEN REVISED TO SHOW THAT THE METROPOLITAN POLICE, AND NOT THE POLICE FEDERATION, IS RECOMMENDING THE MASONIC MEMBERSHIP DISCLOSURE POLICY. MY APOLOGIES FOR THE MIXUP.

As a kid, I always hated reruns. Turns out that I still don't like them as an adult.

London's Metropolitan Police (MET) have once again resurrected the snaggletoothed notion that all law enforcement officers be forced to officially declare their membership in the Freemasons. The hazy allegation is that Masonic police officers in the Metropolitan Police (MET) might possibly be engaging in favoritism, underhanded conduct, or downright criminal acts that all get swept under the carpet by fellow Brethren who hold their Masonic obligations higher than proper police conduct. Their reasoning is that, even though there's no proof of any such thing, some people and some officers MIGHT THINK there's something dodgy going on.

Scotland Yard is meeting with the Met's Police Federation and the United Grand Lodge of England, who are both protesting the rule.

According to an article in the BBC:

The Met does not currently record how many officers are Masons, and has never banned them from joining, but said concerns had been raised by officers and staff about the impact that membership of such a group could be having on "investigations, promotions and misconduct".

Existing examples of declarable associations include people with criminal convictions, those dismissed from policing, and lawful professions such as private investigation or journalism.

Officers and staff already have to declare any association with an individual or group that might compromise their integrity or damage the reputation of the force.

The move was recommended by the Daniel Morgan Independent Panel report, which looked at the force's handling of the unsolved murder of private detective Daniel Morgan.

The 37-year-old father of two was killed with an axe in the car park of the Golden Lion pub in Sydenham, south-east London, in 1987.

A string of inquiries over the decades unearthed allegations of corruption.

The 2021 report said police officers' membership of the Freemasons had been "a source of recurring suspicion and mistrust in the investigations".

Right. An investigation of an event from 39 years ago, from which an unknown number of those involved have died of old age.

This moth-eaten nonsense really dates back to 1984 in the wake of Stephen Knight's baseless, witless book of anti-Masonic fantasies, The Brotherhood: The Secret World of the Freemasons, in which he set forth his addled belief in a vast, secret network of secret Freemasons secretly secreted within police forces, courtrooms, law firms, and the prison system who secretly conspire to secretly commit crimes, hide their own transgressions, pardon criminals, and promote each other by giving each other secret signs, dodgy handshakes, and hopping about with rolled up trouser legs.

Or something like that. 

(And no, I'm not linking to it - go find it on your own, if you must, but buy a used copy so his heirs don't receive any royalties.)

Knight's absurd waste of pulp set in motion conspiracy theories alleging everything from a Masonic Jack the Ripper (as dramatized in the movies Murder By Decree and From Hell), to the sinking of the Titanic. There was an alleged police cover-up regarding a 1989 football stadium riot in Hillsborough (it took 27 years of investigating Hillsborough before several commissions finally gave up on finding ANY Masonic connection to the stampede and death of 96 people). There have also been countless unfounded claims over the decades that Masons have only promoted Brother Masons within the ranks of police departments all over the country. Time after time it's found simply that these cases are brought by disgruntled employees over being passed over for advancement. But more than four decades have gone by as these conspiracy theories have been marinated into the public consciousness by whole platoons of the press who keep floating these rumors, regardless of the facts.

Between 1997 and 2009, then-Home Secretary Jack Straw and his commission in the Home Office enacted a national law forcing cops and members of the judiciary to declare their membership in no other group besides the Freemasons, and wasted a fat wad of the taxpayer's cash and twelve years to arrive at the same conclusion across the whole country - there was no there there. No evidence of Masonic influences in police departments. Period. The law was only eliminated in the wake of a successful 2009 suit brought in the European Court of Human Rights by Italian Masons fighting a similar regulation. UGLE threatened a similar suit and the Home Office finally scrapped its registration requirement of Masons in police departments and the judiciary in 2010.

Again in 2016, the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, reluctantly squashed a requirement that the city's Met officers had to publicly declare their Masonic membership, pointing out that such a register would be illegal. But I suppose since the Brexit vote occurred, the government has now decided they no longer have to follow the European Court of Human Rights rulings.

See, if only England could ditch those pesky protections of privacy and pass laws to specifically persecute people like Masonic police officers, lawyers, and judges over their private associations, everything would be just fine. Then once the Masons are purged, perhaps they could move on to getting rid of cops who are Manchester United fans, Fabians, bowling league members, cricketeers, and then get to the members of tea cozy collectors' clubs.

The MET's Police Federation acts similar to a police union or professionals' association. Back in 2018, the then-head of the Police Federation, Steve White, resigned from office just before he was about to be handed the biscuit in a no-confidence vote from his members. On his way out the door, he alleged that he had been thwarted from making serious reforms to the Federation over his three-year term by some unspecified cabal of secret Masonic police officers, even though he had no idea how many of his officers were actually members of the fraternity, who they might be, how influential (or ineffectual) they really were, or whether Masons had actually done anything at all to block his plans. Imagine that.

Turns out that his fellow officers just plain didn't like the guy or his proposed changes. That had nothing to do with the Freemasons.

The problem has ALWAYS been that anti-Masonic prejudices and open hatreds are so widespread in the UK and Europe. Once employees of ANY profession are required to openly declare their Masonic membership, they are opening themselves up to retribution and risking their jobs. Anti-Masons will use their membership as an excuse to allege misconduct of all kinds. Criminals will accuse Masonic cops of no end of imaginary conspiracies. Non-Masonic officers will accuse Masonic supervisors of favoritism and prejudice, just like Steve White did when he resigned in 2018.

The ONLY reason the public has this toxic perception in the first place is because certain members of the press and opportunistic politicians have spent more than 40 years beating this same meritless, one-note drum over and over. Look at this one from 2011. Or this one from 2018. 

Today, to accompany this story, The Spectator editorialist Melanie McDonagh posted a piece of offal, There's Something Vulgar About the Freemasons, that's so loaded with falsehoods and her own personal prejudices that a responsible editor should have handed it back to her to try again. It seems Ms. McDonagh just doesn't like the IDEA of the Masons, as a Catholic and a woman (who doesn't even know that there are thousands of female Masons in England). She doesn't like the Masons; she doesn't like the decor of UGLE's Great Queen Street headquarters, Freemasons Hall (!); she thinks it's a given that "half the coppers in London are Freemasons"; and she admits she doesn't even know if her own beliefs are true or not. 

The press contradictorily brands Freemasons, on the one hand, as a doddering, dwindling collection of sad, old white men engaging in silly rituals behind closed doors of crumbling buildings, who have no reason to exist in a modern world. But, in the same breath, they treat Freemasons as an all-powerful secret society that pervades professions like the police departments and the judiciary, exchanging secret semaphore signals with criminals or accomplices to get each other promotions or to escape the strong arm of justice they so richly deserve.

So which is it—stupid dinosaurs on our collective death bed, or all-powerful manipulators who surreptitiously pick the winners and losers? The anti-Masons can't have it both ways, but they sure do huff and puff and keep trying to do just that.

Thankfully, we haven't had to deal with this nonsense in the U.S. ever, really. Our worst anti-Masonic period was 200 years ago, and while we've had occasional bouts with it since then, we haven't been victimized by the press with the wholesale level our English Brethren have dealt with since the 1980s. This is why former Grand Secretary David Staples and the UGLE created the #EnoughIsEnough campaign several years ago to combat anti-Masonic press allegations and prejudices. And why the all-male UGLE teamed up with the two English female grand lodges and the Grand lodge of Scotland to create the Council For Freemasonry last year, a cooperative organization that specifically responds to these kinds of anti-Masonic stories as a rapid-response team.

The United Grand Lodge of England will be meeting with MET officials on Tuesday. Hopefully, this most recent episode will get defused as they have in the past. But given the current political climate in the UK, with Prime Minister Keir Starmer's Labour government trying to clamp down on free speech, free association, and other vital tenets of Western governance, nothing is certain.

London's Freemasons Hall Forms Promotional Organization to Market Its Unique Venue

by Christopher Hodapp

If you've watched British television shows over the last 40 years or so that are set anywhere from the 1930s to modern day, I'll guarantee you've seen scenes shot in and around the United Grand Lodge of England's London headquarters, Freemasons Hall, at 60 Great Queen Street, just up the street from Covent Garden. This magnificent art deco masterpiece was completed in 1933 and has a seemingly endless number of interior rooms for the grand lodge, individual Masonic lodges, private meetings and other gathering places like their museum and the Lechworth's Masonic supply shop. Every room has its own distinct style, and it's been used in hundreds of TV episodes and feature films, to say nothing of weddings, fashion, industrial, and art shows, concerts, and all kinds of other specialty events.

The building's trustees have now gone into partnership with a local promotions company and formed a special organization specifically to market the building's unique features for more of these kinds of uses. From the Travel and Tour World website:

London’s historic Freemasons’ Hall has unveiled 60 Great Queen Street as the vibrant new identity for its commercial event offerings. This transformation coincides with Smart Group, the parent company of Moving Venue, expanding its role at the venue. Having secured exclusive catering rights in July 2024, Smart Group now assumes full responsibility for event sales and marketing at this prestigious Covent Garden landmark.

With the launch of 60 Great Queen Street, Smart Group is introducing an array of newly available spaces within the Grade II listed* building, offering an exclusive opportunity for corporate and private events in an iconic setting.

 

Designed to accommodate a diverse range of gatherings, from corporate conferences and product launches to high-end weddings and fashion showcases, 60 Great Queen Street blends architectural grandeur with cutting-edge event design. Collaborating with top-tier industry suppliers, the venue delivers bespoke, immersive experiences tailored to the needs of meetings, weddings, and private celebrations.

Greg Lawson, CEO of Smart Group, said: “Having delivered Christmas parties at Freemasons’ Hall since 2017 and holding the exclusive catering contract since July 2024, we are delighted to embark on the latest phase of our partnership with the United Grand Lodge of England. This is an exciting time of commercial growth for us, as we work with Freemasons’ Hall to enhance the market position for 60 Great Queen Street with our experience of leading sales and marketing activity across our various brands...

Admittedly, London's Freemasons Hall is one of the top 10 greatest Masonic buildings in the world, and they've got plenty to promote. But nearly every grand lodge in the U.S. has one or more incredible buildings with unique spaces that should be promoted to the general public for events. We have lodge rooms, theaters, dining halls, libraries, and other spaces not found anywhere else. Our forebears who built these incredible temples were proud of them and intended them to be part of our communities from the very start. For the most part, Masons aren't very good at building management or promoting our temples as venues. Partnerships with a local promotions company can be a winning strategy for us.

Grand Lodge of Texas' Recent Transgender Ruling Makes the News

Photo: Shutterstock/Chris Hodapp

by Christopher Hodapp

On Sunday, the Daily Caller website featured an article about Freemasonry dealing with the issue of transgenderism. Written by contributor Kate Anderson, it has the clickbait headline, The World's Oldest Secret Society Is Being Torn Apart Over Transgenderism — the inevitable exclamation point is invisible but breathlessly implied. Since Sunday, the story has been picked up by numerous other websites and news organizations.

"Torn apart" is more than a bit hyperbolic, but the article itself does a fair job of laying out the issue, and contrasts the transgender policies of the United Grand Lodge of England versus the recent decision issued in March by the current Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Texas, MW G. Clay Smith. 

His decision stated, in part:

• A biological woman (meaning an individual who was assigned female at birth) cannot be a Mason.
• A transgender man (meaning an individual who was assigned female at birth whose gender identity or gender expression is now male) cannot be a Mason.
• A transgender woman (meaning an individual who was born male whose gender identity or gender expression is now female) cannot be made a Mason nor remain a Mason.

(For the full text of GM Smith's decision, see my story from March 25th.) 

The Daily Caller piece features several interviews with Texas Masons, one of whom alleges:

“The problem is lots and lots of lodges in Texas have been admitting transgender people, very visibly,” the Mason told the DCNF. “[One lodge] has several visibly transgender people, these are people who either already took the oath as a guy and then changed or took the oaths saying that they were nonbinary, gender fluid, or something … and this is considered a big provocation.”

(Personally, I would be interested to know what exactly constitutes "lots and lots of lodges in Texas" that he alleges have been "admitting visibly transgender people.")

As far as internal rule making goes within the fraternity, U.S. grand lodges don't much concern themselves with what the UGLE does or doesn't do. The situation in England — both before and after Brexit — is quite different. The UGLE has historically been protected under both English and European Union laws from legal accusations of gender discrimination because of Freemasonry's longstanding male-only admissions criteria. They are recognized in England and Wales under the law as a single-sex association, so they cannot be compelled to admit women. 

However...

The problem arose when existing UGLE Masons chose to undergo gender reassignment, which is when the law kicked in. The UGLE's male-only status does not protect them from accusations of discrimination against current members. Under the 2004 Gender Recognition Act and the 2010 Equality Act, a man who has already joined the Freemasons cannot be expelled or excluded after transitioning to a woman because gender reassignment is a protected right under the law.

UGLE's current policy reads, in part:

Should a person who has undergone gender reassignment and has become a man apply to become a Freemason then his application must be processed in the same way as for any other male candidate.

A Freemason who after initiation ceases to be a man does not cease to be a Freemason. 

A Freemason who becomes a woman is not required to resign from the Craft.

[snip]  

A Lodge may vote to exclude any member for sufficient cause. [However,] the following grounds would constitute unlawful discrimination and so could never constitute sufficient cause:

• The fact that a member has legally become a woman;
• A mistaken belief that a member has legally become a woman;
• The fact that a member is in the process of transition from male to female; or
• A mistaken belief that a member is in the process of transitioning from male to female.
• Similarly a Lodge must not attempt to persuade a member to resign from the Lodge or discriminate against a member based on any of these grounds. A Lodge must not at any time require a member to prove that they are legally a man.

Female members should still be greeted with the prefix “brother”. Alternatives to the formal suit and tie have been allowed, including a “smart dark skirt and top.”

Edward Lord (photo: Telegraph)

At the time when this controversy started in 2018, UGLE Mason Edward Lord (photo) had been overseeing a "gender identity drive" as part of his role as chair of the City of London’s establishment committee. Lord has been a well-known and highly visible LGBTQ activist for many years, and identifies as "non-binary," preferring to be addressed by the pronoun "they.” His London committee was investigating ending sex segregation in women-only spaces like public bathrooms, dressing rooms, and locker rooms at well-known public landmarks. But in the midst of contentious online discussions over the matter, it was revealed that Edward Lord is a Freemason, and his participation in the world's oldest and best known male fraternal group suddenly turned into a noisy public row that played out in the press. (See The Telegraph - "Gender equality campaigner defends Freemason membership".) He was branded as a hypocrite. In response to the press noise, UGLE was compelled internally into crafting their transgender policy, which was clearly very carefully worded by a team of lawyers. They also worked with the two biggest female grand lodges in England, the Honourable Fraternity of Ancient Freemasons (HFAF) and the Order of Women Freemasons (OWF) since, as single-sex organizations themselves, they faced the very same legal dilemmas within their ranks.