Overview
- The United Grand Lodge of England filed for an emergency High Court injunction to pause the Metropolitan Police policy pending a judicial review.
- The Met’s December change requires officers and staff to declare past or present membership of hierarchical groups that demand mutual support and confidentiality.
- Police leaders say the rule protects public confidence in impartiality, citing a survey in which two-thirds of respondents backed the restriction.
- The force will defend the policy in court and has agreed to further consultation, yet it is continuing the rollout rather than suspending it.
- UGLE challenges the consultation’s validity and raises human-rights and data-protection concerns, noting about 440 Freemasons among roughly 32,135 Met officers and pointing to recommendations from the Daniel Morgan panel.