Former Conservative MP Rory Stewart has been mocked for a strange moment on Newsnight when he spun in his chair and stared at a fellow panelist.

The academic and podcaster Mr Stewart appeared on the BBC programme on 18 September but the clip circulated on social media in the last few days.

Alongside fellow panelists former Labour leader Neil Kinnock and New Statesman political editor Ailbhe Rea, Mr Stewart spoke about the day’s main news stories, including the race between China and the United States to develop artificial intelligence (AI).

The former Penrith and The Border MP said his piece before host Matt Chorley asked Ms Rea what Westminster could do about the development of AI. Mr Stewart swung his body around in his chair swiftly and stared at the journalist.

It was clipped by a social media user and led to plenty of comments online, many of whom imagined situations in which the stare could have taken place.

One user said: “When your Dad said it’s up to your mum if you can get an ice cream from the van.”

Another said: “I can’t stop laughing. What was he doing?”

The Larry the Cat social media account quipped: “When HR tells you that you need to listen better to female colleagues.”

Total Politics Group chief executive Mark Wallace compared it with comedian Kevin Eldon, writing: “There’s a high degree of Kevin Eldon energy to this. Magnificently strange.”

During the Newsnight broadcast, Mr Stewart, who co-hosts podcast The Rest is Politics with former Labour spin doctor Alastair Campbell, warned: “The big question around what the UK does – on a global level the US and China must begin to get regulation in place for safety on AI.

“These things could be phenomenally dangerous but it’s the US and China who are driving the frontier labs.

“Then the question is Britain, and how we protect ourselves from being completely dependent on the US and China if we build all of our military, all of our hospitals, all of our businesses on American and Chinese AI, and they have the kill-switch, and all the value goes to them? It’s terrifying.”