The Sun newspaper in the UK was the target of a torrent of anger from Twitter users when it asked its readers to vote on whether gay people should be ministers in the cabinet of the UK Government.

The paper, the UK’s highest-circulation national daily newspaper, posed the question after the resignation of former Chief Secretary to the Treasury David Laws, following revelations in one of The Sun’s rival publications that Mr Laws had wrongly claimed expenses for accommodation where his secret partner lived.

On Twitter @duckorange reminded people: “Shocked at Sun’s “gay cabinet minister” poll? Don’t be – this is same paper that ran “Ten ways to spot if your vicar is a pulpit pooftah”.

And a comment from @neilmonnery’s saying: “The Sun really ran a poll asking ‘Should gay people be cabinet ministers? – Even I never thought they could sink that low”, was heavily retweeted.

Of those polled 13 per cent said it was a good thing that gay people were in the cabinet and more than three-quarters said they did not mind. Only five per cent said they were against.

On the afternoon the poll appeared, campaigners from gay campaign group Stonewall said they were not surprised that 90 per cent of the paper’s readers who took part in the poll said that an MP’s sexuality should have no bearing on whether they can be a Cabinet member.

The result of The Sun poll, according to Stonewall Chief Executive Ben Summerskill, “must have been a disappointment to the Sun journalists who were silly enough to ask the question.

“This suggests it is more out of touch with its readers than it likes to think.”