Since its beginnings over a century ago, the British Academy has boasted some of the country’s most eminent professors and scholars among its fellows.

But now the organisation has been condemned for its decision to honour the founder of Wikipedia for his services to academia, as critics say that his site promotes “intellectual laziness”.

Jimmy Wales will be awarded a President’s Medal on Wednesday night by the British Academy at a ceremony in central London, for his “outstanding service” to humanities and social sciences.

Professor Sir David Cannadine, President of the British Academy, who hosted the ceremony, said the prize winners were “an outstanding group” who have “blazed new trails through their disciplines, shown dedication of the highest order and, through their work, furthered understanding of what it means to be human”.