Crime reduction charity tops league of most gay-friendly places to work in Britain

The public sector dominates the top spots in a table out today of the most gay-friendly employers in Britain.

National crime reduction charity Nacro comes top, followed by the Greater London Authority, with Hampshire and Staffordshire police forces joint third.

Gay rights organisation Stonewall ranks employers on criteria ranging from implementation of equality policies to good recruitment practices.

Stonewall chief executive Ben Summerskill said: "This accolade is a tribute to the determined way in which Nacro has sought to appeal to as wide a range of potential staff as possible."

He added that many of the 1.7m lesbian and gay people in the UK workforce now use the index to choose were to work.

Paul Cavadino, Nacro chief executive, said: "This shows that with commitment and determination, a charity with few spare financial resources can provide a quality of support for gay staff which equals that of some of the biggest employers in the country."

Law firm Pinsent Masons will be named Most Improved Employer, and HM Prison Service will win an award for Employee Network Group of the Year at a champagne reception at the London Transport Museum tonight.