The cronies linked by Freemasons
THE ‘Tatler Tory’ scandal took a new turn last night after it emerged that Mark Clarke and his cronies are Freemasons.
They are members of the Phoenix Lodge, based in Wandsworth, South London, where Clarke lives – and meet there to hatch political plots.
One of Clarke’s fellow Phoenix Freemasons is lawyer and Conservative councillor Andy Peterkin. Mr Peterkin formerly worked for Clifford Chance, the London law firm chosen by Tory chairman Lord Feldman to conduct an independent inquiry into the Clarke scandal, and now works for Farrar and Co, the Queen’s lawyers.
When the bullying claims against Clarke surfaced, Mr Peterkin leapt to his defence on Facebook saying: ‘Mark Clarke is one of my best mates. Feel free to unfriend me if that offen offends you.’ He has since delet deleted it.
Mr Peterkin told The Mail on Sund Sunday. ‘I have given Mark a sho shoulder to cry on but I am not giv giving him legal or any other a advice. I am sick and tired of s seeing him kicked to death in public.’
Other Phoenix Freemasons include Clarke’s henchman Andre Walker. Walker helped Clarke bully Elliott Johnson, before the a activist took his own l life. He also tried to trap on one of Clarke’s female Tor Tory foes into being caug caught on camera snorting cocai cocaine.
Uki Ukip general secre secretary Matthew Rich Richardson, another close friend of Clarke’s, is a former Worshipful Master of Phoenix Lodge.
As an Oxford student, Mr Richardson set up an online forum where people could post gossip anonymously– until it was shut down amid legal threats.
Clarke ally Greg Smith, an aide to Cabinet Minister Greg Hands, is also a former Phoenix Worshipful Master. It was at Smith’s summer wedding that Clarke caused outrage by holding hands with Ms Brummitt in church. A guest bawled out Clarke, saying he should be at home with his wife and children.
Fellow Phoenix Freemason Donal Blaney runs the Thatcherite Conservative Way Forward, where Mr Johnson worked. He was one of Clarke’s closest friends – until he disowned him as a ‘narcissistic sociopath’ after a recent fall-out.
Renowned for its secret handshakes and bizarre rituals, Freemasonry has long been suspected of having members in high places in the judiciary and the police, although in recent years the organisation has tried to shrug off its reputation for conspiracies and the dark arts. Freemasons are traditionally obliged to swear an oath, blindfolded, bare-chested, with a noose around their neck and a dagger placed to their heart, and to never reveal the hidden mysteries of the organisation.
Masonic rules say members – of which there are around 250,000 in England and Wales – must keep each others’ lawful secrets, which has led to fears that it fosters corrupt cliques.
But Freemasons’ leaders say alleged historic links with political and criminal conspiracies are a myth and in 2012 launched an exercise promising greater openness. Prince Edward is Grand Master of the United Grand Lodge of England.