Research by an acclaimed US psychologist suggests that 80 per cent of men who are homophobic have secret homosexual feelings.

This finding lends scientific support to the long-standing speculation that those who shout the loudest against homosexuality have something to hide.

The research results were published in the prestigious journal of Abnormal Psychology, with the backing of the American Psychological Association.

In tests conducted by Prof. Henry E Adams of the University of Georgia, homophobic men who said they were exclusively heterosexual were shown gay sex videos.

Four out of five became sexually aroused by the homoerotic imagery, as recorded by a plethysmograph . . . a calibrated band fitted around the penis, which measures any enlargement.