Freemasons are blocking police reform, including the promotion of women and officers from black and ethnic minorities, a police leader has said.

Steve White, chairman of the Police Federation, who steps down today after three years, said that some colleagues had suspected that members of the secretive organisation had obstructed reform.

He said: “What people do in their private lives is a matter for them. When it becomes an issue is when it affects their work. We need to make sure that people are making decisions for the right reasons and there is a need for continuing cultural reform in the Fed, which should reflect the makeup of policing.”

Mr White said that some key figures in branches of the Police Federation, which represents 120,000