WALTHAMSTOW MP Stella Creasy has criticised the BBC for selecting a panda as one of its women “faces of the year”.

The corporation was recently slammed by the shadow minister for crime prevention for not including a women on its Sports Personality of the Year Award shortlist.

Now Miss Creasy has described the decision to feature Tian Tian the panda, who arrived at Edinburgh zoo from China last month, as “frustrating”.

She told the national Guardian: "Whilst we all love a good panda story, in a year when Christine Lagarde became head of the IMF, or Helle Thorning-Schmidt became prime minister of Denmark or even the sad death of Amy Winehouse, it's frustrating the BBC couldn't think of 12 human female faces who have made the news this year.

"These lists aren't meant to be serious but coming so soon after the lack of women from their Sports Personality of the Year award it does seem as if the BBC hasn't noticed the wide and varied contribution women make to public life.”

The BBC said the list was “light hearted” and a fish was included on the male list.