A police officer in Northern Ireland was transferred because he was not a member of the Masonic Order, it was revealed tonight.
Reserve Constable Joseph Gibson suffered religious discrimination over the decision to move him out of the Royal Ulster Constabulary's motor transport depot, a fair employment tribunal in Belfast has ruled.
Despite being better trained than a colleague who was a member of the secretive organisation and retained, Mr Gibson, now 67, was chosen for relocation during a reduction in staffing levels.
Police witnesses told a hearing into his case they felt excluded and ostracised at the depot because they did not share membership of the Order or the right-wing political views allegedly expressed by some officers.
At one stage, as the tribunal heard how oaths were taken over an open Bible during meetings, details were revealed of the dire consequences for any members who broke their promises.
These included the body being cut in two, it was claimed. A sergeant who ran the section, himself a Mason of 35 years standing, insisted the language used was symbolic rather than literal.
Although the officer accepted no Catholics were members of his lodge, he told the hearing he was unaware that the organisation looked after fellow Masons.
Some officers under his command did request to have their duties arranged so they were free to attend Masonic meetings, witnesses said.
A Lodge magazine was also left at the depot, it was claimed. Another officer told the tribunal that members he worked with carried out preparatory work for functions while in the depot.
Details of the unlawful discrimination on grounds of religious belief were disclosed today by the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland, which backed Mr Gibson's case.
Even though Mr Gibson - now retired - and the other Reserve Constable who was kept on at the depot are both Protestants, the Tribunal held that membership of the Masonic Order is a religious belief under the relevant law.
In a ruling it declared: "The respondents did not provide a neutral working environment.
"As a result, those officers who did not belong to the Masonic Order felt uncomfortable and excluded because of the actions of those who did."
Mr Gibson, originally from Belfast, took the case against the RUC - which has since reformed as the Police Service of Northern Ireland - and the now defunct NI Police Authority after being among the officers selected for transfer from the depot in November 1999.
The staff reduction followed a decision to switch prisoner escort duties to the Prison Service.