(by William Atkinson, The Spectator, 9th January 2026)
It’s a personal delight that on 29 September 1829, the first day of Robert Peel’s new force, the first warrant number issued by the Metropolitan Police was to a William Atkinson. I’m less happy that officer number one was sacked after just four hours on duty, for being drunk.
As the Met approaches its 200th birthday, the state of it would embarrass even my namesake. The force is ineffective, scandal-prone and discredited. Shoplifting is up 104 per cent since 2020. Knife crime has reached a 14-year high. In 2023, a review by Louise Casey declared the Met riddled with institutional sexism, racism and bullying. Many recent studies have found that more than half of Londoners do not trust their police.
Rather than get its house in order, the Met has decided to pick a fight with a very particular group: the Freemasons. Last month, the force announced that officers must reveal if they are or were members of a ‘hierarchical organisation that requires members to support and protect each other’ – a succinct summary of Freemasonry. The United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE) – the governing lodge of most English, Welsh and Commonwealth masons – is suing, arguing the demand is an ‘unlawful, unfair and discriminatory’ breach of the Equality Act.
I am not a Freemason. But as a lifelong Luton Town supporter who joined the Conservative party aged 15, I have a natural affinity with members of embattled, peculiar organisations. The Met’s attack on Freemasonry is an unjustified assault designed to distract from its own failings.
The obligation for officers to disclose their Freemasonry was recommended by…
read more:
Rather than get its house in order, the Met has decided to pick a fight with a very particular group: the Freemasons. Last month, the force announced that officers must reveal if they are or were members of a ‘hierarchical organisation that requires members to support and protect each other’ – a succinct summary of Freemasonry. The United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE) – the governing lodge of most English, Welsh and Commonwealth masons – is suing, arguing the demand is an ‘unlawful, unfair and discriminatory’ breach of the Equality Act.
I am not a Freemason. But as a lifelong Luton Town supporter who joined the Conservative party aged 15, I have a natural affinity with members of embattled, peculiar organisations. The Met’s attack on Freemasonry is an unjustified assault designed to distract from its own failings.
The obligation for officers to disclose their Freemasonry was recommended by…
read more:
The obligation for officers to disclose their Freemasonry was recommended by…
read more:
