A Norfolk MP who criticised the BBC for not including Union flags in its annual reports has been roundly mocked on Twitter, with thousands of people tweeting at him.

James Wild, the Conservative MP for North West Norfolk, asked the director general of the BBC, Tim Davie, multiple times how often flags had been used in two reports during a meeting of the Public Accounts Committee.

Celebrities and journalists across the political spectrum mocked Mr Wild's questions, with one describing it as the "stupidest intervention ever".

Football pundit Gary Lineker described the event as "So weird" with a facepalm emoji.

"Yes, kids, it's time to play: What's W******? The Question Or The Attitude? This is a tough one," said comedian and writer David Baddiel.

"This isn’t normal for Norfolk. It shouldn’t be normal for anywhere. James Wild is bringing Norfolk into disrepute. Red card," said UEA associate professor in law, Paul Bernal.

The chief features writer at the Financial Times Henry Mance said: "This may be the stupidest intervention ever by an MP."

The Birmingham Yardley MP, Jess Phillips, was one of several opposition MPs to tweet about the incident, she said: "BBC sells Britain around the world. I remember being in a pub in Brooklyn, some Americans from North Carolina asked us excitedly about Hyacinth Bucket & Dr Who.

"They loved Brits. I feel confident no one in any pub anywhere will ever ask me about James Wild."