Freemasonry responds to The Spectator’s misrepresentations

Published: 30 September 2025

Dear Editor,

The Council for Freemasonry in Great Britain is disappointed and surprised to read Melanie McDonagh’s article published on The Spectator today, entitled: “There’s something vulgar about Freemasons”.

As Freemasons, we have become accustomed to inaccurate and unfair representations of our organisation and members – but this article, sadly, reaches a new and deliberate low.

Particularly surprising was the distasteful focus on Freemasons’ Hall, a war memorial built in 1933 to remember the thousands of Freemasons that so valiantly made the Ultimate Sacrifice for this country in the First World War. This memorial, funded by Freemasons themselves, stands as a reminder of those brave men – with the Art Deco splendour a fitting tribute to their memory. In her article, Ms McDonagh chooses to describe these trappings as “vulgar”. It should be clear, that we will never apologise for the reverence with which we remember them, or for the unique and historic relationship that we enjoy with the Armed Forces.

Sadly, the article also lists several further inaccuracies. According to Ms McDonagh, Catholics aren’t allowed to be Freemasons. This is, of course, a complete falsehood. We are proud to be an organisation with people from all faiths, including Catholics. In fact, Freemasonry remains one of the very few institutions that celebrates this diversity so fervently, as a cornerstone of who we are. It is common to find Christians, Muslims, Jews, Hindus, Sikhs, and all faiths, sat together in a Freemasons’ Lodge – enjoying each other’s company. This is something that should be celebrated and inaccurate representations such as the one featured in this article, do nothing but encourage unnecessary disharmony and upset.

The rules of Freemasonry are perfectly clear – it is strictly forbidden for any Freemason to have any kind of financial or professional gain from their membership. Such an occurrence would likely see that individual face disciplinary proceedings and expulsion.

The charitable work to which Ms McDonagh alludes, for the awareness of the readers of The Spectator, is indeed tireless, and equated to £26.3 million in 2023/24. Our engagement in our communities is not just restricted to financial support. We have calculated that Freemasons conduct over 18 million hours of volunteering a year. This was particularly prevalent during the pandemic, where Freemasons were key to the national effort by acting as marshals at vaccination centres, as well as in assisting the elderly through the delivery of key provisions.

Our members are actively encouraged to talk openly about their membership of Freemasonry and to talk with pride about it, whilst raising awareness of what we do. To be clear, we are not supportive of mandatory disclosure of membership of ourselves or any other unjustifiable restrictions on our members' right to privacy and to freedom of association. 

Despite the misrepresentations of our organisation and members, Freemasonry, as it has done for the last 300 years, will continue to provide a space for men and women to enjoy the camaraderie, tradition, and togetherness that it offers. Freemasonry continues to evolve, but its guiding principles of integrity, friendship, and service remain unchanged.

United Grand Lodge of England
The Order of Women Freemasons
The Grand Lodge of Scotland
The Honourable Fraternity of Ancient Freemasons