The CIA, where secret agents are sometimes known as “spooks” and which uses “ghost prisons” overseas for enhanced interrogations, now appears to be taking a lead from a supernatural comedy film.

A logo being used by its counter-terrorism office in Langley, Virginia, is clearly inspired by Ghostbusters, the 1984 movie.

The international red forbidden stripe cuts across a black-clad terrorist waving an AK47, attached to which is a bayonet with a Saracen curve on it. Above is the message “Terrorist Buster”.

The film, starring Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd in a battle to save the world, had a hit song that featured the refrain: “Who ya gonna call? Ghost-busters!” In this case, however, the CIA may already know who you have been calling.

Although the logo has been in use for six years, it has only recently surfaced and yesterday the internet blogosphere lit up with conspiracy theories, outrage (that the CIA should be spending time or money designing such material) and scorn.

“Why are ghosts white and terrorists black?” one liberal blogger asked. Others suggested that “bad logos are what neo-cons get for alienating the gay community” or that “someone at Langley has been smoking that Freedom Fudge from our Afghan allies again”.

The CIA itself insisted yesterday that “it was just a logo” that was not intended to offend or upset anybody, except possibly terrorists.

One source asked plaintively: “If we were the department for human resources would we be getting all this stuff about our logos?” A spokesman said: “There’s just nothing new here. The image, which has been posted on our website for over six years, is an informal logo that first circulated among people directly involved in the global fight against terror. The symbol wasn't designed to represent any specific terrorist group or individual.”

He added: “When it was created years ago, the logo was intended to reflect the determination and spirit of those who were working tirelessly to overcome what we still know today to be a truly dangerous threat. Even though the logo isn’t currently in wide circulation, that strong commitment to our counter-terrorism mission is alive and well.”

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