London, England - The Metropolitan Police said Tuesday they had agreed to provide the Church of Scientology, which includes Tom Cruise and John Travolta among its celebrity members, with special security information.
"Church of Scientology asked to be placed on a database of groups and individuals that are provided with regular information bulletins from the Metropolitan Police," a spokeswoman told AFP.
It has also been placed in a database of organisations whose contact details, if requested, will be passed along to victims of crime or in the aftermath of an emergency for support.
The Metropolitan Police spokeswoman said the Church of Scientology, which is regarded with suspicion in many European countries, would not be receiving any "confidential or sensitive material".
Founded in the United States in 1954 by science-fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard, Scientology was accorded the status of religion there in 1993, and even enjoys a tax exemption.
The Church of Scientology, which is accused by its opponents of manipulating members for financial ends, says it is working for a world free of "war, crime and insanity". It is against psychiatry and anti-drugs.