A European Commission official is said to have received orders not to publish an account of the remarks of Tim Hunt that led to his dismissal, despite the fact that it placed the British scientist in a more positive light.
According to the British newspaper The Times, the Commission held a set of "internal minutes" from a session at the World Conference of Science Journalists in Seoul on 9 June, at which Hunt was previously reported to have made sexist remarks. The newspaper reports that the account of events recorded by the Commission makes it clear that Hunt was making a lighthearted joke, but that Commission staff have been ordered not to publish or release the minutes.
The paper quotes a Brussels source as stating that there is "unease" over the Commission’s reluctance to set the record straight, and concern that there could be a cover-up because of the Commission’s close links to the European Research Council.
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