Charlotte Chorley, CUSU Women's Officer, has responded to comments made during a BBC Radio Cambridgeshire interview this morning, when she was asked "who's making lunch?" by the presenter Paul Stainton, in an apparently ironic reference to the controversial comments about women made by the boxer Tyson Fury.

Fury, who has been nominated for the BBC's Sports Personality of the Year Award, has previously made a range of remarks about women which have sparked outrage, including: “I believe a woman’s best place is in the kitchen and on her back. That’s my personal belief. Making me a good cup of tea, that’s what I believe.” 

In the radio debate this morning, Chorley was welcomed to show by Stainton with the comment "Nice of you to get out of the kitchen and talk to us", to which she responded, "Hmm, yeah, well I'm currently sitting in my office, you know, doing my job."

CUSU President Priscilla Mensah registered her disapproval of Stainton's comments online, commenting: "Chair of CUSU Trustee Board, Trustee of Cambridge Uni, but I should be making tea right?"

Stainton has since defended his comments on Twitter, arguing that Chorley should listen to the interview again, and "check the irony", adding that the "disrespect was aimed at Tyson Fury."

A BBC spokesperson said: "It was within the context of the subject matter being discussed - Tyson Fury's sexist statements. We'd like to clarify that Paul Stainton was being ironic and absolutely no offence was intended."

Speaking to Varsity, Chorley claimed that the BBC Broadcast Assistant who arranged the interview had "failed to mention that this would be live, or that it would be a debate about free speech," having been led to believe that her radio appearance would simply be in order to comment on Fury's remarks. 

Chorley described how she was "completely thrown off guard" by Stainton's "incredibly offensive comments", which she argues indicated that "Paul Stainton knew what he wanted to say, and there was no real 'debate' to be had."

Chorley has requested a full public apology, rejecting claims that Stainton's comments were meant ironically, in that "Whether Paul's comments were meant to offend or not, they were derogatory and disrespectful."