'Stupidest line of questioning ever from an MP' - Tory MP James Wild ridiculed for grilling BBC Director General Tim Davie over Union flag

The exchange occurred during a sitting of the Public Accounts Select Committee on Monday.

The committee was convened to scrutinise the BBC's strategic financial management however, Mr. Wild used his opportunity to ask a question to quiz Director General, Tim Davie about flags.

"In your annual report last year, 268 pages, do you know how many Union flags featured in any of the graphics in those glossy pages?," quizzed Mr. Wild.

Director General Tim Davie responded: “Of all the briefings I got for this meeting that was not one of them I’m afraid.”

Mr. Wild then invited Mr. Davie to guess but he declined.

Wild then went on to tell Mr. Davie that there were zero images of the Union flag contained within the report which was published only two weeks after Mr. Davie was unveiled as the BBC's new Director General.

“It’s always good to see the Union Jack flying but you’d think in a report that’s 268 pages about the BBC, the British Broadcasting Corporation, my constituents would expect probably more than one flag appearing," suggested Wild.

Mr. Wild then took a clip of the exchange he had with Mr. Davie and shared it on social media.

At the time of publishing a video of the exchange, which Mr. Wild shared himself on Twitter, had been viewed more than two million times.

Political commentator, Dr. Michael Galswarthy responded saying: "This is the stupidest line of questioning I have ever witnessed from any MP in my lifetime."

However, one man supported Mr. Wild's comments saying: "Good work James, sneering at the flag is emblematic of metrolectual [sic] intolerance and snobbery"

---

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our advertisers — and consequently the revenue we receive — we are more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription.

Subscribe to newsletter.co.uk and enjoy unlimited access to the best Northern Ireland and UK news and information online and on our app. With a digital subscription, you can read more than 5 articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Visit https://www.newsletter.co.uk/subscriptions now to sign up.

Our journalism costs money and we rely on advertising, print and digital revenues to help to support them. By supporting us, we are able to support you in providing trusted, fact-checked content for this website.

Alistair Bushe

Editor