The UK court dismissed the complaint brought by Masonic organizations against the fresh policy of the London police, which requires officers to disclose their affiliation with the Masonry.
In a 17-page ruling, justice Martin Chamberlain of the advanced Court stated that the Metropolitan Police policy "services a legitimate nonsubjective of maintaining and strengthening public assurance in the police, and is proportionate". He besides felt that the grounds for the complaint were not ‘reasonably justified’ and that the policy itself was not discriminatory or ‘exaggerating’.
The justice refused to let judicial review and rejected requests for suspension of the work to disclose membership. The metropolitan police welcomed the decision, stressing that she was ready to "strongly defend" this policy. As Commander Simon Messinger said, both victims of crime and whistleblowers must be certain that investigations are in no way contaminated by specified ties, and the police's precedence is trust – beyond the desire to keep secret by any organization.
The complaint was brought by the United large Lodge of England, the Order of Mason Women, the Honourable Fraternity of Ancient Freemasons and 2 active police officers. The regulation introduced in December obliges all officers and staff to disclose whether they are or have always been members of ‘confidential’ associations, with a peculiar indication of the Masonry. To date, any 400 people have made declarations.
The applicant organisations expressed their ‘disappointment’ by judgement and announced that further legal steps would be considered, while stressing their satisfaction with the assurances regarding the safe collection and retention of data. During the hearing, their lawyers argued that politics lead to the creation of a discriminatory "blacklist" of masons. They besides pointed out that the police themselves would classify masonry membership as a "low risk", questioning the wide scope of disclosure obligations.
The lawyer representing the Metropolitan Police rejected these claims as erroneous and stressed the deficiency of evidence of stigmatisation or discrimination of those who made the declarations. The disclosure work was introduced following recommendations of an independent panel which criticised the organisational culture and police transparency in 2021. The Panel pointed to public concerns about undisclosed Masonic affiliation in the police, although it did not find systemic corruption associated with it.
