Boris Johnson has caused a stir with comments he made about women in his latest Telegraph column.

The Conservative MP for Uxbridge & South Ruislip defended Professor Tim Hunt, who has quit as honorary professor at University College London after his remarks on female scientists sparked anger online.

Mr Johnson said it is a scientific fact that women cry more readily than men, and said that it should not be an offence to point out a "gender difference".

The remarks stemmed from a statement Professor Hunt made at a conference in South Korea last week.

He said: “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.”

Looking at the comments, Mr Johnson posed the question: "Is there any foundation to this casual assertion, that women cry more readily than men?"

He replied with: "Well, yes, there is."

He also pointed out figures that women, on average, cry "30-64 times a year, while men cry only between six and 17 times a year".

The Mayor of London went on to say that "women are said to have more prolactin, a hormone associated with weeping", which "could be filed as the latest stunning discovery from the University of the Bleeding Obvious".

The column, which Mr Johnson is paid to write, sparked backlash on social media.

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