The agency has secured ad space in a gay-oriented graduate recruitment guide run by homosexual lobby group Stonewall and has set up a "network" to help gay MI5 staff, The Sun reported Monday.

Ben Summerskill, director of Stonewall, said he theorized the agency was looking to hire more gays because "people from all minority communities do have experience of getting on with people who are different, and of fitting in."

"They are also good at doing these things in a way that is not conspicuous," he said.

A source within the agency said it is seeking to "reflect the broad range of U.K. society it serves."