The UK Security Service has been named as one of the top 10 employers for lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) people.
The executive agency was ranked seventh of 100 in the 2015 Stonewall Workplace Equality Index, which is produced by the lesbian, gay and bisexual rights charity Stonewall.
Published annually, the index is free to enter for any employer and assesses performance based on a set of criteria that includes employee policy, training and career development.
Staff from all the firms who enter are also asked to provide feedback on their employer’s performance.
This is the fifth time MI5 has taken part in the Stonewall Index. Ranked 134th in 2011, the Security Service has risen up the rankings over the last four years.
MI5 director general Andrew Parker said: "Keeping the country safe is a challenge that requires the best efforts of the richest mix of the most talented people in our society, working together in high-performing teams.
“So it is essential to our success that MI5 is an inclusive workplace offering varied, rewarding and challenging careers for all."
Other government bodies to make Stonewall’s top 100 include: the Office for National Statistics (15th), the Environment Agency (25th), HM Revenue & Customs (27th), the Army (46th), the Department of Health (54th), the Crown Prosecution Service (65th), the Financial Conduct Authority (82nd), the National Audit Office (82nd) and the Care Quality Commission (94th).