Stella Rimington v Prof Tim Hunt

Unless you’ve been on Mars or in a coma this last fortnight you will be aware that Nobel prize winning scientist Dr Tim Hunt has been forced out of his honorary positions at University College London. Among his many works he made a scientific breakthrough that has opened up new cancer treatments. But he lost his positions because, in a speech at a conference, he jokingly said that the problem with women in labs is that they fall in love with men and men with them and that if you tell a woman off she cries.

Former spy chief Stella Rimington said this week that women make better spies than men because they are better listeners, are less intense and more relaxed. Not sure but eh, that’s what she thinks.

Mrs Rimington’s comments barely caused a ripple on the calm waters of public life, why should they? She is entitled to her opinion. However, Professor Hunt’s comments caused a positive tsunami of vindictiveness, bile and hysterical foaming at the mouth from members of the emotionally incontinent sisterhood. One barely coherent psycho-feminist on BBC Question Time actually claimed that wimmin everywhere had been mortally offended by his comments.

My only thought is that rationality must be a quality very high up on your CV if you want to be a spy. I know who I would choose if I were recruiting spooks.