Recruits to Britain’s armed forces will be asked if they are gay in an effort to improve diversity in the military. Answers will be stored but not be visible on individual personal records or to senior officers, and will be anonymized before being collated. Recruits will also have the option to “prefer not to say.” A spokesman for the Ministry of Defense (MoD) said that the move “will give us a better understanding of the composition of our armed forces and help ensure our policies and practices fully support our personnel.” Gay soldiers have been allowed to serve openly since 2000.