Dutch staffing agency Randstad has created an outcry in Belgium, where it also operates, with a tv commercial which played on World War One.

The advert was broadcast on Monday night, right after an episode of the tv series In Flemish Fields. The drama series is about a Belgian family coping with the horrors of World War One.

The advert said: ‘And in order to rebuild everything, Randstad Professionals will find the right project engineer.’

Micro-blogging service Twitter lit up with fury. ‘Who makes a advert like this? And which idiots at Randstad approved it – and then paid for it?’ Belgian MP Wilfried Vandaele tweeted.

In a reaction, Randstad said the commercial was made with ‘care and integrity’. ‘It is not about the war or its victims but about the rebuilding – a positive message,’ the company is quoted by Nos television as saying.