HC Deb 14 February 2000 vol 344 cc411-2W
Mr. Kidney

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers in England and Wales are freemasons. [109440]

Mr. Charles Clarke

There is no requirement for this information to be provided by police officers. Most forces in England and Wales are compiling statistics of freemasonry membership among officers and civilian staff from information provided on a voluntary basis, and the following figures are currently available for 26 forces. Of the 38,875 individuals who made returns, 417 indicated that they were freemasons.