""The aim of the Metropolitan Police is to create a black list of Freemasons that they will then use to assess risk. If the Metropolitan Police were creating a list of anyone else who held a particular religion or belief, and then cross-checked promotions against that list, it would be denounced, rightly, as a discriminatory black list.""
""The new policy means officers and staff are required to declare membership "past or present" of any organisation that is "hierarchical, has confidential membership and requires members to support and protect each other".""
""James Berry KC, for the Met, told the court that declarations are "made and held confidentially" and that officers and staff "are free to become or remain Freemasons".""
The Metropolitan Police added Freemasonry and similar organisations to its declarable associations policy, requiring officers and staff to declare membership past or present of hierarchical, confidential groups requiring mutual support. Two serving officers and three Freemasonry bodies seek to challenge the policy at the High Court and asked for a temporary suspension pending full hearing. The Met says declarations are made and held confidentially and that officers remain free to join or remain Freemasons. Met barristers described the legal challenge as not arguable. Freemason representatives allege human rights breaches and say the evidence is limited and perception-driven.
Read at www.bbc.com
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