Register membership of organisations like Freemasons
Daniel Morgan Panel · The Report of the Daniel Morgan Independent Panel · Issued 15 June 2021 · Addressed to: Home Office
Source — verbatim from the inquiry
●Inquiry recommendation, Volume 1
All police officers and police staff should be obliged to register in confidence with the Chief Officer of their police force, at either their point of recruitment to the police force or at any point subsequent to their recruitment, their membership of any organisation, including the Freemasons, which might call their impartiality into question or give rise to the perception of a conflict of loyalties.
Daniel Morgan Panel, The Report of the Daniel Morgan Independent Panel · 15 Jun 2021 Source PDF →
Response — verbatim from government
●Home Office
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.
Home Office · 22 Jun 2023 Written response →
Evidence trail — what's actually happened since
- 22 Jun 2023 Government effectively not accepting this recommendation. While technically "accepted in principle", the response indicates no legislative or regulatory action will be taken - only ongoing monitoring/review. Source →
- 11 Dec 2025 · Metropolitan Police Service / Home Office The government initially said there was a 'lack of evidence to suggest that legislation would resolve this issue.' However, on 11 December 2025, the MPS announced that officers and staff must declare membership of hierarchical organisations with confidential membership, explicitly including Freemasonry. Two-thirds of respondents to a consultation felt such memberships affect public perception of impartiality. The United Grand Lodge of England has launched legal action (judicial review) against the Met. This policy applies only to the Met -- it is not a national requirement for all forces. View source → Reasonable Progress
Each entry above links to a primary source — gov.uk written statement, consultation response document, or inspection report. The Index does not characterise government intent; it tracks what has been published.
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Source and Response are verbatim from primary documents. The Evidence trail records published activity since — written statements, consultation outcomes, inspection findings, parliamentary references. The Index does not paraphrase or characterise intent; it tracks what has been published. Where the evidence is the absence of action (a missed deadline, a slipped timetable), that absence is documented from primary sources rather than inferred.
This recommendation's data is verified periodically against primary sources. The Index is monitored for staleness weekly.