Tim Hunt apologises for comments on his 'trouble' with female scientists

The Nobel laureate Tim Hunt has apologised for comments he made about female scientists.

Hunt had told a conference he had a reputation for being a chauvinist, before saying: “Let me tell you about my trouble with girls. Three things happen when they are in the lab. You fall in love with them, they fall in love with you and when you criticise them, they cry.”

The 72-year-old, who was awarded the Nobel prize in physiology or medicine in 2001, also said he was in favour of single-sex labs, while adding that he did not want to “stand in the way of women”.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Wednesday, Hunt apologised for any offence, saying he meant the remarks to be humorous – but added he “did mean the part about having trouble with girls”.

He said: “It is true … I have fallen in love with people in the lab and people in the lab have fallen in love with me and it’s very disruptive to the science because it’s terribly important that in a lab people are on a level playing field.

“I found that these emotional entanglements made life very difficult. I’m really, really sorry I caused any offence, that’s awful. I certainly didn’t mean that. I just meant to be honest, actually.”

In a statement, Hunt said: “I’m very sorry that what I thought were light hearted ironic remarks were taken so seriously, and I’m very sorry if people took offence. I certainly did not mean to demean women, but rather be honest about my own shortcomings.”

Hunt made the remarks when addressing a convention of senior female scientists and science journalists at a conference in South Korea.

Hunt became a fellow of the Royal Society in 1991 and 10 years later he was awarded the Nobel prize alongside Lee Hartwell and Paul Nurse for their discoveries of “key regulators of the cell cycle”.

His comments were tweeted by Connie St Louis, who directs the science journalism programme at City University London and was attending the conference. She commented: “Really, does this Nobel laureate think we are still in Victorian times?”

The Royal Society distanced itself from Hunt’s comments. It said: “The Royal Society believes that in order to achieve everything that it can, science needs to make the best use of the research capabilities of the entire population.

“Too many talented individuals do not fulfil their scientific potential because of issues such as gender and the society is committed to helping to put this right. Sir Tim Hunt was speaking as an individual and his reported comments in no way reflect the views of the Royal Society.”

David Colquhoun, emeritus professor of pharmacology at University College London, said Hunt’s remarks were a “disaster for the advancement of women”.

The comments have also been roundly criticised by female scientists on Twitter. One woman, a postdoctoral researcher, tweeted: “For every Tim Hunt remark, there’s an extra woman in science that takes an interest in feminism. Ever wonder why there are so many of us?”