BBC head of news James Harding has been asked to explain why a left-wing blogger currently working for the TUC who has “little journalistic experience” has been made Newsnight economics correspondent.

Duncan Weldon is currently senior economist at the TUC and is one of a number of hires by Newsnight editor Ian Katz since his appointment last May. Katz was deputy editor of The Guardian before joining Newsnight so was not a popular appointment himself with some right-wingers.

In a letter to Harding, Andrew Bridgen MP said: “Mr Weldon follows in a long line of Economics Correspondents who have had clear links either to the Labour Party or left-wing policies.