Jacob Rees-Mogg announce birth of his sixth child before attending PMQs hours later

The Conservative MP announced the arrival of Sixtus Dominic Boniface Christopher, on Instagram

Jacob Rees-Mogg has five other children - Peter, Mary, Thomas, Anselm and Alfred - with his wife Helena de Chair (Instagram)

Jacob Rees-Mogg announced the birth of his sixth child, Sixtus Dominic Boniface Christopher, before attending Prime Minister's Questions just hours later.

The Conservative MP for North East Somerset announced the new arrival with a picture on the social media site, Instagram.

Dressed in a suit and tie, he can be seen cradling his newborn son. There is no sign of his wife, Helena de Chair.

Within hours of the announcement, Mr Rees-Mogg was seen at Prime Minister’s Questions.

One social media user commented: "How wonderful, congratulations!!! Now let's get Sixtus and the others into number 10!"

The choice of name is likely to prompt some debate, as baby-name books say that it is derived from a Greek name Xystus, meaning "polished".

However, it should not be confused with the Latin name Sextus, meaning sixth.

The name was nonetheless taken by the sixth pope after St Peter took the name Sixtus, leading some to believe there is a link with the number.

Four other Roman Catholic popes have been called Sixtus, most recently Sixtus V, who was consecrated in 1567.

Mr Rees-Mogg, a practising Catholic, also appears to have been inspired by his faith in the choice of his son's middle names.

Dominic was the founder of a religious order, while Boniface was the name taken by nine popes. Christopher is the patron saint of travellers.

Part of the MP's wedding ceremony to his wife Helena de Chair in Canterbury Cathedral in 2007 included a Tridentine mass in ecclesiastical Latin.

The Eton and Oxford educated MP has become a prolific social media user.

He now has 22,000 followers, 4,100 more than Theresa May, and his other children Peter, Mary, Thomas, Anselm and Alfred have all appeared in pictures on his feed.