Scotland Yard chief Sir Mark Rowley is set to order 33,000 officers in London to tell bosses if they are part of the Freemasons.
Commissioner Sir Mark is believed to have signed off the policy shift after receiving potentially disturbing intelligence about a criminal case being investigated by his Anti-Corruption Command under Independent Office for Police Conduct supervision.
Separately, BBC Panorama will broadcast a damning undercover exposé on Wednesday alleging racism, misogyny and some officers revelling in the use of force at Charing Cross Police Station, central London.
Nine police ranging in rank from constable to sergeant were suspended this month when documentary producers contacted the force for a response to secret filming by a journalist who obtained a job as a civilian detention worker in the custody suite.
On Monday, the Metropolitan Police announced it had started a consultation on adding Freemasonry to its declarable associations policy.
Masons take an oath of loyalty to the fraternity’s principles and supporting fellow members.
Sir Mark is taking action despite London mayor Sir Sadiq Khan, who is responsible for setting the strategic direction of policing, previously ruling out a compulsory register of Freemasons saying it could go against officers’ human rights.
Matt Cane, general secretary of the rank-and-file Met Police Federation, said: “We oppose this step.
“It’s an infringement on our members’ private lives and we will look to challenge this decision.
“Where does this end? Will police officers have to declare membership of golf clubs or any religious affiliation?”
The force does not currently collect information about how many are Masons and has never banned them from joining.
But the Yard said concerns have been raised by staff about the impact that membership of such a group could be having on “investigations, promotions and misconduct”.
Existing examples of declarable associations set out in the policy include people with criminal convictions, those dismissed from policing, and lawful professions like private investigation or journalism.
Officers and staff already have to declare links with an individual or group that might compromise their integrity or damage the reputation of the force.
The move was recommended by the Daniel Morgan Independent Panel report – a probe into the force’s handling of the unsolved March 1987 murder of the private detective.
Father-of-two Mr Morgan, 37, was killed with an axe in the car park of the Golden Lion pub in Sydenham.
A string of inquiries over the decades unearthed allegations of corruption.
The 2021 review said police officers’ membership of the Freemasons had been “a source of recurring suspicion and mistrust in the investigations”.
Commander Simon Messinger, of Professional Standards, said: “We are now consulting on a proposal to add to that list involvement in Freemasonry – and potentially other organisations that could call impartiality into question or give rise to conflict of loyalties – and are keen to hear the views of our officers and staff.
“This does not prevent any member of staff joining the Freemasons or another similar organisation, but it means we will know who is a part of it.
“Strengthening the trust both our own staff and London’s communities have in the Met is a core part of our New Met for London plan and ambitions.”
Senior officers will be discussing the proposed policy change with the United Grand Lodge of England, the headquarters of Freemasonry.
The Met said it now has one of the strongest entry vetting policies in UK policing and refusal rates have more than doubled from five per cent in 2020-21 to 11 per cent last year. Nevertheless, how a journalist was recruited will be embarrassing.
Britain’s biggest police force has removed more than 1,400 officers and staff from its ranks in three years as it adopts an “Al Capone” approach to uncover wrongdoing.
The crackdown in the wake of Sarah Everard’s murder by PC Wayne Couzens is the largest in its history.
An entire custody team at Charing Cross is being disbanded as a police inquiry continues ahead of Panorama being aired at 9pm on October 1.
Depending on what covert material has been gathered by BBC One, Undercover in the Police could be as damaging as the broadcaster’s landmark 2003 film The Secret Policemen where reporter Mark Daly infiltrated the Greater Manchester force to reveal vile racism among recruits.
Charing Cross - the UK’s largest station - was at the centre of a separate controversy in 2022 when it emerged officers had exchanged highly offensive WhatsApp messages, including repeated jokes about rape, domestic violence, racism, homophobia and derogatory terms for disabled people.
In August, four officers were arrested and a detective inspector charged as part of an alleged plot to suppress a policewoman’s sexual assault complaint against a senior colleague.
Four are based in an area squad for north west London, while the fifth is in the professional standards directorate which is investigating them.
