Register membership of organisations like Freemasons

2.2.17. There were concerns about Freemasonry, and the potential for conflicts of loyalty among Freemasons who were also police officers, in the initial investigations. The report itself accepted that membership of the Freemasons was not a factor in Daniel’s murder. However, policing still needs to consider how it registers potential conflicts of interest. There is currently a lack of evidence to suggest that legislation would resolve this issue, with policing partners undertaking an exercise to assess conflicts of interest between officers and organisations which could affect officers’ impartiality. This will continue to be reviewed as part of the updating of the counter-corruption APP in 2023, and as further potential conflicts for officers are identified.

However, policing still needs to consider how it registers potential conflicts of interest. There is currently a lack of evidence to suggest that legislation would resolve this issue, with policing partners undertaking an exercise to assess conflicts of interest between officers and organisations which could affect officers’ impartiality. This will continue to be reviewed as part of the updating of the counter-corruption APP in 2023, and as further potential conflicts for officers are identified.

12. The Panel’s recommendation 14 is set out at [5] above. 13. In the light of this report, a working group called Operation Drayfurn was established, consisting of representatives of the College of Policing, the Home Office, the National Counter-Corruption Advisory Group and the MPS. This group found evidence of one case where a police sergeant had been dismissed from British Transport Police for providing confidential information to Freemason associates, but concluded that there was no evidence base that Freemasonry is a significant factor in police corruption.

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.

The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) has published its response to the Daniel Morgan Independent Panel report. Called Operation Dryfurn, this outlines the action taken by the MPS in response to the themes and recommendations in the report and sets out how it has worked with the other agencies named by the Panel as recommendations owners. In the case of recommendation 14, work on this is being led by the College of Policing, Home Office and National Police Chiefs’ Council. Currently, the MPS follows guidance outlined by the College of Policing and Home Office in this respect, which is national policy. Further information on the guidance the MPS is following and the progress of other work on this recommendation can be found in the MPS’s Operation Drayfurn report on pages 37-39.

The MPS’s lack of monitoring and oversight of declarable associations, business interests and gifts and hospitality is a cause of concern.