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LONDON–Britain's domestic spy agency wants gay recruits to know: It's time to come out of the closet.
After shunning them for decades over worries of blackmail, MI5 is now asking gays and lesbians to consider a career as a spy, promising the chance to fight terrorists, protect their country – and earn a decent salary, plus benefits.
As part of an ongoing recruitment drive, MI5 is already wooing women, minorities and people with foreign language skills. The fact that they're now reaching out to Britain's gay community is long overdue, said Peter Tatchell, a London-based gay rights activist.
"Until a decade ago, gay people were seen as a security threat, and as recently as two decades ago, they were being witch-hunted and sacked from the security services," he said yesterday.
"It was part of the Cold War mentality that saw security threats, traitors, and spies everywhere," he said. "Gay people were regarded as vulnerable to blackmail, even if they were open and out about their sexuality.''
Britain had some infamous gay agents during that era, such as Guy Burgess and Anthony Blunt, who were caught spying for the Soviets.
The spy agency is shaking off its clubby image and becoming more representative of the community it serves, said Ben Summerskill, chief executive officer of gay rights group Stonewall, which publishes a job hunting guide that includes the spy agency as a prospective employer.
"My recent experience of them is that they're not John le Carré, Graham Greene – it's not that sort of tableau anymore,'' Summerskill said. Stonewall also is working with MI5 to create a workplace environment supportive of gay people.
MI6, which collects Britain's foreign intelligence, also is looking for new hires, and in particular is encouraging applications from women and minorities.
