The structure of Freemasonry
As with all secret societies, such as The Freemasons, The Skull and Bones Society, The Church of Satan, Order of the Golden Dawn etc. there are initial grades or levels, known in masonry as degrees.
These are laid out in the image below, which is a structure of freemasonry chart from a masonic lodge.
Above, The Structure of Freemasonry
Above, two photographs taken inside a masonic temple of a 'Masonic Death Burial Ritual', from The Hiram Key, by Robert Lomas.
Short Video, Freemasonry symbology and related images.
Freemasonry, Secrets of a Secret Society
Freemasonry, is a secret society that in England and Wales alone has more than 700,000 initiates, a further 100,000 in Scotland and between 50,000 and 70,000 in Ireland. The membership in the USA is even higher.
All the members of this Brotherhood are male, and all except those who are second, third, or fourth, generation Freemasons, who may join at eighteen, are over the age of twenty one.
Freemasonry's critics have described it as a business cult, a satanic religion, and a political conspiracy.
Defenders of Freemasonry tell us it is nothing more than a benevolent and charitable fraternal brotherhood.
The headquarters of the Brotherhood in England and Wales is in London, at the corner of Great Queen Street and Wild Street. This is the seat of the `United Grand Lodge of England', the governing body of the 8,000 plus Lodges in England and Wales.
These Lodges, of which there are another 1,200 odd under the jurisdiction of the `Grand Lodge of Scotland' and about 750 under the `Grand Lodge of Ireland', carry out their secret business and ritual in Masonic Temples.
Temples might be purpose built, or might be rooms in hotels or private buildings temporarily converted for Masonic use.
Many town halls up and down the country, for example, have a masonic hall or private function rooms used for Masonic rituals, as does New Scotland Yard, headquarters of the Metropolitan Police and home to the "Animal Rights National Index" (ARNI) and Special Branch.
Debates about Freemasonry in the Police began in 1877 with the sensational discovery that virtually every member of the Detective Department at Scotland Yard, up to and including the second in command, was in the pay of a gang of vicious swindlers.
The corruption had started in 1872 when, at a Lodge meeting in Islington, John Meiklejohn, a Freemason, was introduced to a criminal called William Kurr (Kurr had then been a Freemason for some years). One night the two Masonic brothers exchanged intimacies. Kurr was operating a bogus `betting agency' swindle and was sorely in need of an accomplice within the force to warn him as and when the Detective Department had sufficient information against him to move in. Meiklejohn agreed to accept 100 pounds, nearly half his annual salary, to supply information.
In forces all over England, Freemasonry is strongest in the Criminal Investigation Department (CID). This had been particularly noticeable at Scotland Yard, and the situation remains the same today.
Between 1969 and the setting up of the famous Operation Countryman in 1978 there were three big investigations into corruption in the Metropolitan Police. These were:
(1) An enquiry into allegations of corruption and extortion by Police, first published in The Times. This resulted in the arrest, trial and imprisonment of two London detectives in 1972.
(2) An enquiry by Lancashire Police into members of the Metropolitan Police Drug Squad. This led to the trial of six detectives, and the imprisonment in 1973 of three of them.
(3) An enquiry into allegations of corruption among CID officers responsible for coping with vice and pornography in London's West End. Over twenty detectives were sacked from the force during the three year investigation in the early 1970's, which led eventually to the notorious Porn Squad trials.
There were corrupt Masonic Policemen involved in all these cases. According to Masonic books, and some modern works, Freemasonry was formed and continues to work to "dupe the simple for the benefit of the crafty" (p.33, Proceedings of the US Anti Masonic Convention, 1830).
The Freemasonic value system and organisational structure can be used to conceal both immoral and illegal acts but, its members derive benefit from the Brotherhood only so long as the status quo is maintained.
Video, The Morgan Affair
INITIATION
Initiation into the various secret societies, the Freemasons being one of, is relatively easy these days compared to older times.
Potential initiates are hand picked and invited to join based on their status or wealth, tempted with the promise that, once accepted into the organisation, many personal advantages would be on offer: improved career prospects with promotion easier to achieve, more prosperous lifestyles, and obstacles to success would be made to disappear. In other words this mutually beneficial "old boy network" would take care of its own.
The vast majority of members are on the first three rungs of the 33 level hierarchy and have no idea of the hidden agenda. Once initiated into the lowest level, the first of the 33 degrees, vows are taken to pledge allegiance to the society above all else. Most initiates are willing to do this as the temptation of power, wealth, and knowledge is hard to refuse. It is hinted that there are penalties to pay for betraying their society and revealing its secrets, but at this level the organisation is viewed by its members as little more than a secretive social club with a morality based on chivalry.
What appear to be certain esoteric secrets, are revealed to them upon initiation as a `taster' of what is to come as long as they remain faithful. Money is then paid by the initiate in order to progress to the second degree through a ceremony involving the revelation of yet further secret knowledge with the promise of more to come at each stage.
Initiation into higher degrees requires increasingly larger sums of money and still the clues keep coming. Promises of wonderful arcane knowledge are continual yet the actual knowledge revealed remains encoded and only serves to whet the appetite. No one is ever given the full scenario, only pieces of what appears to be a picture of the most awesome significance.
As more and more is revealed and the higher up the ladder the initiate is allowed, the greater are the perks provided and doorways opened in terms of career and social status. Moreover, the warnings against transgression of the secret society's rules become blatant and more sinister at each step.
It is impossible to achieve high levels of initiation within Freemasonry unless one is hand picked by those of the higher degrees. In order to qualify, one must meet their criteria of wealth, status, social class, and character type. By the time the twentieth degree is reached a minimum of professional level income is required to fund progression through the system. The result of this financially dependent progression is that the top level members of the Brotherhood elite are among the richest, and most powerfully influential in the world. They are also responsible, directly and indirectly, for most of the money/power based crime such as the illegal drugs industry, political assassinations, Satanism, and mind control, which goes on every day all around the world.
Jack the Ripper: The Final Solution, by Stephen Knight, produced evidence the Ripper murders were a Masonic cover up involving the highest levels of British government and the monarchy. An important investigative effort suggesting the levels of influence at which the senior members of the freemasonic brotherhood operate and their indifference to the bounds of law. The issue of The Jack the Ripper murders having masonic involvement is well known and has been covered since the events by many authors and investigators. It was also covered recently in a Johnny Depp movie about Jack The Ripper, see video below.
Trailer, From Hell, Johhny Depp
Barristers and Judges
To understand why Freemasonry is so powerful in the law, it is helpful to be familiar with the distinct roles of the two branches of the legal profession.
The barrister is the only member of the profession who has the right of audience in any court in the country. Whereas solicitors may be heard only in Magistrates Courts, County Courts, and in certain circumstances Crown Courts, a barrister can present and argue a client's case in all these as well as in the High Court, the Court of Appeal, and the House of Lords. But unlike the solicitor, the barrister does not deal with the client direct.
Contact between client and barrister is always supposed to be through the solicitor, although this does not always work out in practice.
The etiquette of the profession demands that the solicitor, not the client, instructs the barrister. Thus the barrister is dependent on the solicitor for his living. In England, the rank of barrister at law is conferred exclusively by four unincorporated bodies in London, known collectively as the Honourable Societies of the Inns of Court.
The four Inns, established between 1310 and 1357, are Lincoln's Inn, Grays Inn, the Middle Temple and the Inner Temple.
Prior to the establishment of the latter two Inns, "The Temple", which lies between Fleet Street and the River Thames, was the headquarters of the `Knights Templar', a masonic military order who gained staggering riches and a wealth of esoteric knowledge between the eleventh and thirteenth centuries, but were declared heretics by King Philip IV of France and wiped out during the early fourteenth century, including executions and beheadings for wrong doings which included extortion, bigamy, homosexuality, and satanism. However The Templars gained much wealth through money lending and extortion, and are even credited with starting todays banking and crediting system. The Knights Templars went on to become the Freemasons, (whose symbol is a red cross or rose on a white background, representing blood and semen in Satanic ritual) and the modern day `Order of the Knights Templar' within British Freemasonry claims direct decent from the medieval order.
The flag of The Knights templar went on to become todays flag of England.
Each Inn is owned by its Honourable Society, has its own library, dining hall, and chapel, and is governed by its own senior members, barristers and judges, who are known as Benchers.
The Benchers decide which students will be called to the Bar (made barristers that is) and which will not. Their decision is final. As with so much else in British Law, ancient customs attend the passage of students to their final examinations and admission.
Candidates must of course pass examinations, which are set by the Council for Legal Education, but in addition they must `keep twelve terms'.
In everyday language this means that on a set number of occasions in each legal term (Hilary, Easter, Trinity and Michelmas) for three years, candidates must dine at their Inn. If they do so without fail, pass their exams and pay their fees they will then be called, and the degree, or rank, of barrister at law will be bestowed upon them.
Solicitors, especially those outside London, have a particular incentive for becoming Freemasons. By the rules of their profession they are forbidden to advertise. They are therefore reliant on passing trade, which is often sparse, and recommendation, which is hard to get. Solicitors join Freemasonry purely to get on close terms with the businessmen and worthies of their community, and to gain personal contact with Police, JPs, magistrate's clerks and any local or visiting members of the judiciary, men they could rely upon either to put business their way or whose good offices they would be professionally valuable.
From the beginning the men of law were linked with Freemasonry. The term `Masonic firm' is used more often in the law than in any other profession. This is because there is a greater preponderance of companies which are exclusively run by members of the Brotherhood in this area of society than elsewhere. In fact, at one time in British history all judges were masons, and paraded accordingly until british masonry went underground due to being uncovered in certain areas and tied to criminality and demonology. It refers to those firms of solicitors whose senior partners are, without exception and as part of a deliberate policy, Freemasons. In such firms, and this is equally true in London as in the Provinces, most of the junior partners will also be `on the square'.

Some Masonic firms will not allow the possibility of a non Masonic partner. In these cases only existing brethren will be taken on. In some larger Masonic firms there will be one, perhaps two, of the junior partners who are not Masons. These non Masons generally never even suspect the secret allegiance of their fellow partners. At a certain stage in their career they might receive an approach from one of the Brothers within the firm, not a blunt invitation to join, but a subtle implantation of an idea, a curtain twitched gently aside.
Usually if this is passed over nothing further will occur. If it is recognised and rebuffed, the non Mason will probably be actively looking for a partnership elsewhere shortly afterwards, as work becomes unaccountably more demanding and as he finds he no longer seems to measure up to the standard expected of him.
In summary, Freemasonry is a brotherhood or more aptly a cult which mandates secrecy and obedience within its ranks, affords protection and advancement of the interests of its members, punishes its enemies and turns a blind eye to criminal behaviour committed by its members against non members. Freemasonry provides a value system and an organisational structure which works to put brother Freemasons in positions of power in all organisations and can be used by its members for the most immoral and illegal purposes.
Its foundation appears to rest upon the willingness of its members to selfishly exchange their ethics for personal advantage. Its strength appears to lie in a pervasive presence, unseen by those outside the brotherhood, working in concert to protect and expand their wealth and power.
Local Authorities
Every local authority in the country has it's own Freemasonic Lodge, the temple often situated actually within the Town or County Hall.
These local government Lodges are known variously as (a) `Borough Lodge', (b) `County Lodge', (c) `Town Hall Lodge', or (d) `Council Lodge', depending where they are.
In London alone there are no fewer than twenty four Lodges which from their names in the Masonic Year Book can be identified as being based on local authorities. There are at least as many again in Greater London whose identity is cloaked under a classical or other obscuring title like `Harmony'.
In addition to these there are the Lodges based upon the City of London Corporation, and Lodge No. 2603 for officers and members of what was formerly known as the Greater London Council (GLC), originally consecrated as the London County Council Lodge in 1896.In the provinces, most County Councils and District councils and many Parish Councils have their own Lodge.
One thing is clear, the vast majority of councillors and officials join these Lodges, rather than a Lodge based on geographical area or an institution or profession, because they believe it increases their influence over local affairs.
It could be said that, in local as well as national Government, and even though we are told we live in a `democracy', whatever debate occurs in public is a facade that covers the disturbing truth that everything has been decided in advance.
Freemasons are sworn to show favouritism in advancing the interests of brother Freemasons. The royal arch mason swears, "I will promote a companion royal arch mason's political preferment, in preference to another of equal qualifications" (pg.9, The Address of the US Anti Masonic Convention, 1830.)
MASONS IN MEDICINE, EDUCATION, AND PUBLIC SERVICES
Masonry in the medical profession is prevalent, especially among general practitioners and the more senior hospital doctors. Hospital Lodges prove useful meeting places for medical staff and administrators.
Most main hospitals, including all the London teaching hospitals, have their own Lodges. According to Sir Edward Tuckwell, former Sergeant Surgeon to the Queen, and Lord Porritt, Chairman of the African Medical and Research Foundations, both Freemasons and both consultants to the Royal Masonic Hospital, the Lodges of the teaching hospitals draw their members from hospital staff and GP's connected with the hospital in question.
Tuckwell and Porritt are members of the Lodges attached to the teaching hospitals where they trained and later worked, Porritt at St Mary's Paddington (St Mary's Lodge No 63), which has about forty active members out of about a total 300, half of them general practitioners, and Tuckwell at St Bartholomew's (Rahere Lodge No 2546), with about thirty active brethren.
Other London hospital Lodges include King's College (No2973); London Hospital, Whitechapel (No 2845); St Thomas's (No 142) and Moorfields (No 4949).
Many of the most senior members of the profession are Freemasons, especially those actively involved with the Royal College of Physicians and the Royal College of Surgeons, which has benefited from a massive 600,000 pounds trust fund set up by the Brotherhood for medical research.
The royal arch mason swears, "I will aid and assist a companion royal arch mason, when engaged in any difficulty, and espouse his cause, so far as to extricate him from the same, if in my power, whether he be right or wrong...A companion royal arch mason's secrets, given me in charge as such, and I knowing him to be such, shall remain as secure and inviolable, in my breast as in his own, murder and treason not excepted, ".
Unfortunately, Freemasonry also plays a significant but possibly a declining role in the field of education.
It is common for junior and secondary school headmasters and college lecturers to be Brothers. There are as many as 170 Old Boys Lodges in England and Wales, most of which have current teaching staff among their members.
This is also true of many universties both in the UK and US, in particular in the states, Yale University, home of The Masonic 'Skull and Bones Secret Society' who's members include George Bush senior and Junior, both were falsely running against each other for president, when both had been 'bonesmen' for many years, and both even admitted it on television! See video's below.
John Kerry admits Skull and Bones Membership (30secs)
George Bush admits Skull and Bones membership (27secs)
Note also how sure president Bush is when he says "Oh, i'm not gonna lose". Of course not, how could he, running against his fellow 'bonesman' brother?
MASONS IN THE EMERGENCY SERVICES
The ambulance and fire services are strongly represented in Masonry, and there is a higher proportion of Prison Officers than Police Officers in the Brotherhood. Unlike the Police though, their is little fraternisation between the higher and lower ranks in the Prison Service. The senior officers of Prisons have their lodges, the `screws' theirs, and rare the twain shall meet.
One premier London Lodge has, in a matter of years, completely changed its character due to an influx of prison officers from Wormwood Scrubs Prison. Lodge La Tolerance No 538, consecrated in 1847, until recently considered something of an elite Lodge, was in need of new members. One of the brethren knew a senior officer at the Scrubs who was interested in joining the Brotherhood, and it was agreed that he should be considered.
The prison officer was interviewed and accepted into the Lodge. Such was the interest among the new initiate's colleagues that one by one the number of prison officers in Lodge La Tolerance increased. As more and more joined, so more and more older members left because they were unhappy with the changing character of the Lodge. Lodge No 538 is now dominated by prison officers from the Scrubs, where it is strongest in D Wing, the lifers' section.
Claims throughout the service of Masonic favouritism are more common than in the police. Specific allegations investigated produce a picture of undeniable Masonic influence over appointments, contracts, and promotions, in many areas.
One thing should be clear by now; the Brotherhood owns the law, they own the military, they own the oil companies, pharmaceutical companies, and just about everything which provides fuel for the status quo. It sets the standards for education, it sets the curriculum, it plants seeds via the media and education systems of what will later become, through tender nurturing power hungry, dissatisfied, spiritually unaware slaves to their system. If it was not so sinister it would be purely perfect in its all encompassing design.
Masons might protest and point out the significant charitable acts done by the brotherhood. Millions for charity! But are millions significant compared to the sums that might be realised by the level of influence suggested. The Cali drug cartel in Columbia gave millions for charity as they pocketed billions. Like the Cali cartel, it might pay to invest a little for public relations purposes.
THE MASONIC GOD
The true name, although not the nature, of the Masonic God is revealed only to those Third Degree Masons who elect to be `exalted' to the Holy Royal Arch. The Royal Arch is often thought of as the Fourth Degree but the Fourth Degree is that of Secret Master. In fact the Royal Arch is an extension of the Third Degree, and represents the completion of the `ordeal' of the Master Mason. Only about one fifth of all Master Masons are exalted. But even these, who are taught the `ineffable name' of the Masonic God, do not appreciate its true nature. This is basically because of deliberate obfuscation of the truth by some of those who know, and a general acceptance that everything is as they are told by most members of the Brotherhood.
In the ritual of exaltation, the name of the Great Architect of the Universe is revealed as JAH BUL ON, not a general umbrella term open to any interpretation an individual Freemason might choose, but a precise designation that describes a specific supernatural being, a compound deity composed of three separate personalities fused in one. Each syllable of the `ineffable name' represents one personality of this trinity:
JAH Jahweh, the God of Hebrews
BUL Baal, the ancient Cameanite fertility god associated with `licentious rites of imitative magic'/ The Devil
ON Osiris, the Ancient Egyptian god of the underworld.
Baal was the `false god' with whom Jahweh competed for the allegiance of the Israelites in the Old Testament. But more recently, within a hundred years of the creation of the Freemason's God, the sixteenth century demonologist John Weir identified Baal as a devil. This manifestation of evil had the body of a spider and three heads, those of a man, a toad, and a cat.
In 1873, the renowned Masonic author and historian General Albert Pike, later to become Grand Commander of the Southern Jurisdiction of the Supreme Council (of the 33rd Degree) at Charleston, USA, wrote of his reaction on learning of Jah Bul On. He was disquieted and disgusted by the name, and went on "No man or body of men can make me accept as a sacred word, as a symbol of the infinite and eternal Godhead, a mongrel word, in part composed of the name of an accursed and beastly heathen god, whose name has been for more than two thousand years an appellation of the Devil".
Inside the Brotherhood, by Martin Short, carries on Stephen Knight's research into English Freemasonry and gives additional information on American Freemasonry. In it he shows the racist Klu Klux Klan was created by American Freemasons around 1860 and revived in 1915 "by a new generation of Masons". He notes, "It seems that wherever Masons have common political aims, but cannot pursue them through Freemasonry, they set up parallel public movements" (p.239, IB).
Against all this, the Church of England's Society for the Propagation of Christian Knowledge (SPCK) for example, even today carries no literature examining Freemasonry and discussing whether a Christian should be a mason. The SPCK issued a directive to their book shops that the book "Darkness Visible", probably still the most accurate and scholarly general work on the matter, should not be stocked. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the President of SPCK.
The Archbishop of Canterbury responsible for banning this book was Dr Geoffrey Fisher, a Freemason of long standing. There is no doubt that Freemasonry is extremely anxious to have, or appear to have, good relations with all Christian Churches and, knowing that no serious Masonic scholar and no Christian theologian has been prepared to argue compatibility, the movement remains silent.
There is evidence of very considerable efforts being made by Masons, including pressures on publishers, distributors, and libraries, to suppress works critical of the Brotherhood. This even extends to the Brotherhood's own publications. When the British Library applied in the normal way to Freemasons Hall for two copies of the Masonic Yearbook for the Reading Room in 1981, it was informed that it would not be permitted to have copies of the directory then or in the future. No explanation was given.
There is a deliberate policy in operation within the English hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church to keep its members in ignorance of the true standing of the Church on the question of Freemasonry. This policy may be intended to cover up a huge mistake made by the English Catholic Bishops in 1974 which led to Catholics in Britain being informed that, after two hundred years of implacable opposition from Rome, the Holy See had changed its mind and that with the permission of their local Bishop
Catholics could now become Freemasons. As well as covering up what can now be revealed as this blunder on the part of the English hierarchy, the wall of silence policy conceals, perhaps inadvertently, a more sinister situation in Rome. There is evidence that the Vatican itself is infiltrated by Freemasons.
Freemasonry has many ranks or degrees and is rigidly hierarchical. Master Masons are "sworn to obey all the edicts, whims, etc, of those high and mighty grand sublime Sublimities" (pg.24, Masonic Salvation, Fred Husted, circa 1910) above them.
Betrayal of the Brotherhood is the worst crime possible in the eyes of its members and is ultimately punishable by death.
The Brotherhood is all powerful: all top level members of the police and military forces are placed there through the Brotherhood as Brotherhood tools. Judges and lawyers, media moguls, businessmen, and politicians, are recruited so that no member of the Brotherhood elite is ever in danger of being held accountable by the System for any crime or misdemeanour.
The Brotherhood can, and quite literally does, get away murder because it is also the law which opposes it. If a non Brotherhood member should slip through the net and achieve high status then there are ways to ensure that such people are unable to achieve their full potential. It infiltrates every area of our society at all levels but at the top, in the highest social and monetary bracket, the Brotherhood prevails almost in total.
While the first three degree Masons are raising money for charity and enjoying relatively harmless social events, their superiors in the Craft are organising wars, drug pushing, co ordinating assassinations, mindcontrol, raping and murdering young children in Satanic abuse, and formulating plans for world domination.
December 26 1996 Sky News
The Police Complaints Authority has called for officers to register their membership of organisations such as the Freemasons. The watchdog says it would help dispel the belief that some policemen put their loyalty to the brotherhood above their official duties. The Superintendents Association said they had no objections as long as Judges and Lawyers also came out into the open.
The suggestion that there should be a legally binding public register of Mason officers has angered some members of the police and judiciary who feel it is unnecessary and irrelevant.
The idea is being put forward by the Police Complaints Authority in its recommendation to MP's investigating the issue. While there's no evidence of abuse in the system, it's the public's perception of secret deals that's proving harmful. With an estimated 475,000 Freemasons in Britain, most members say such a notion is ludicrous:
"No earthly reason why a judge should favour somebody he doesn't know at all, just because he happens to be a member of a lodge which he has never been to, at the other end of the country, it's complete fantasy".
There are nearly 9,000 lodges scattered across Britain. Members include police officers, judges, magistrates, prosecutors, criminals, and MP's, some of whom, it is alleged, sit on the Commons Home Affairs Select Committee which is examining the influence of Freemasons on the Criminal Justice System to see if restrictions are required.
LORD JUSTICE MILLETT, FREEMASON ( Sky News)
The Masonic Foundations and Layout of Washington DC
For information about The Masonic Foundations and Influence in The United States see our archives here
When a freemason is being initiated into the third degree he is struck on the forhead in the dark, falling back either into a coffin or onto a coffin shape design. His fellow masons lift him up and when he opens his eyes he is confronted with a human skull and crossed bones. Under this death threat how can any freemason of third degree or higher be trusted, particularly in public office? He is hoodwinked literally and metaphorically, placing himself in a cult and under it's control.
How far back does Masonry go?
As is the case with secret societies, tracing its history can be a daunting task due to the very nature of it's structure. The official line of Freemasonry today is that they cannot say exactly when they were formed. However evidence suggests that Freemasonry existed as far back as ancient Egypt, where it is recorded that only an elite group of people, The 'Free' Stone Masons, had the advanced secret knowledge and materials to build the pyramids.
Bilderberg Organiser is Head Mason's PA
Tony Gosling 19th February 2004
The Duke of Kent is the 'Grand Master' of freemasonry's governing body, the United Grand Lodge of England. http://www.grandlodge-england.org/ugle/whos-who.htm Interesting then that it is the Duke's Personal Assistant, Andrew Palmer, that organised the Turnberry Bilderberg conference, the last one to take place in the UK.
POLICE DEFY FORCE WITH MASONIC LODGE
By Paul Lashmar
28 June 2000

Senior police officers have defied official disapproval and established a new Masonic lodge despite widespread public fears about the influence of the secret society on the criminal justice system.
The police only lodge has been set up by officers from the West Mercia force area which covers Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Shropshire.
The West Mercia Lodge No 9719 was consecrated on 10 June in the village of Craven Arms, near Ludlow, Shropshire, with more than 200 seniorMasons in attendance. It is the 11th police only lodge in Britain and the second in the West Midlands area, the other is in Worcester.
A list of "founders and first officers" of the lodge named 34 serving and retired officers in the lodge of the rank of chief inspector downwards. A further 11 officers are expected to join at the next meeting, which will take place in September.
Peter Neyroud, Assistant Chief Constable at West Mercia, confirmed that one of the new lodge's officers wrote to him in February to inform him of the move, but the force is clearly unhappy about it. "The constabulary would not encourage officers to become Freemasons in view of widespread public concerns over the need for transparency in police relationships with the community," Mr Neyroud said.
"If, despite this, officers make the individual decision to become Freemasons, the force would strongly encourage them to register this membership in the existing register of individuals' interests."
There has been growing public suspicion about the grip of Freemasonry on police officers. Following a number of scandals, in which Masonic influence was alleged, such as the investigation into the West Midlands Serious Crime Squad in the early Nineties, many people believe the all male society has malign influence over some parts of the criminal justice system. The first worshipful master of the lodge is Chief Inspector A W Sykes, who is based in Shrewsbury. Mr Sykes declined to comment. John Hamill, of the United Grand Lodge, said the Masons thought Mr Nayroud's fears were "ill founded".
Police chiefs have been split over how to respond to growing pressure from ministers and MPs for officers to declare whether they are Freemasons. The Chief Constable of Merseyside, Norman Bettison, launched a general register of officers' interests by writing to his force last summer stating that he had no reason to question the integrity of Masons and he had good friends who were members of lodges.
The Chief Constable of Norfolk, Ken Williams, has said he does not believe membership of the Masons is compatible with being a police officer, primarily because of the public's negative view of the society.
The Commons Select Committee on Home Affairs ran an inquiry into Freemasonry in 1998 to 1999, and last year Jack Straw, the Home Secretary, announced a trial voluntary register for police officers to declare if they were Freemasons. Parallel steps have been taken for judges, probation officers and Crown Prosecution Service staff.
West Mercia said the force had a register of officers' outside interests but it was not a public document. It refused to say how many of the new lodge had declared membership of the Masons.
A member of the select committee, Robin Corbett, Labour MP for Birmingham Erdington, said the signs were that the voluntary register had failed. "We now believe that a register needs to be mandatory and public," he said, adding that the Home Office was a year overdue in responding to the committee's report.
"We are aware we owe the committee a response which we hope to deliver shortly," a Home Office spokesman said. "We would consider primary legislation if the voluntary arrangements proved to be ineffective."