He might look like something out of Desert Storm but a Kent MP has instead found himself at the centre of a Twitter storm after a 'dad joke' backfired.

Tom Tugendhat, who represents Tonbridge and Malling, posted an old photo of himself in his military gear armed with a gun after his daughter, who is aged four, received a Valentine's Day card.

Above the picture, the Conservative quipped: "My four-year old daughter just got a Valentine’s Day card. This photograph is posted here for Louis. Yes, you know who you are."

While thousands of people have seen the funny side and 'liked' the post, hundreds of others have questioned whether it was appropriate.

One response read: "There's a lot to unpack here, none of it good, but are you sure Louis, age 4, is even on Twitter?"

Another said: "Wildly inappropriate. Reported."

Countless others labelled it simply "weird".

There were also many messages of support, including one that said: "Judging by the comments, people are losing their sense of humour."

Another commenter added: "It is a joke. Some of the reactions to this are depressing."

Mr Tugendhat, who is currently chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, served with the Royal Marines as an Arabic-speaking intelligence officer during the Iraq War in 2003.

Among the first to comment on the image was Ruth Davidson MP, former leader of the Scottish Conservative Party.

She turned her critical eye to his well-pressed trousers, asking: "Were you in the 2nd ironing squadron? That's quite the crease for desert ops, Tom...."

He replied saying he was doing "the cheesy photo thing with the clean kit from the bottom of the Bergen before leave".

Read more: All the latest news from Tonbridge

Read more: All the latest news from Malling