Education Secretary Nicky Morgan yesterday accused her Labour opposite number of calling her ‘ love ’ in the House of Commons . Labour ’ s Tristram Hunt allegedly made the remark during a Parliamentary debate last week . Mrs Morgan raised the comment when asked about sexism in Parliament in an interview to mark International Women ’ s Day . Nicky Morgan today claimed she was condescendingly called 'love ' in the House of Commons by her Labour opposite number Tristram Hunt . A Tory source said of shadow education secretary Mr Hunt last night : ‘ He ought to think what sort of message it sends to young girls in the classroom to see him use chauvinist put- downs to one of the most senior women in government. ’ In the interview with Sky News , Mrs Morgan also defended David Cameron against accusations of sexism , calling him a ‘ feminist ’ . Mr Cameron came under fire in April 2011 after he responded to heckling from Labour frontbencher Angela Eagle by saying : ‘ Calm down , dear. ’ He later said he was ‘ hugely sorry ’ for the remark , which was taken from a TV advert . Mrs Morgan denied that the comment showed the PM was an ‘ innate sexist ’ and said he has a better record promoting women than the Lib Dems – pointing out there are no Lib Dem women in the Cabinet . Nicky Morgan said Tristram Hunt made the remark 'in the heat of the moment ' during a fiery Commons debate on schools . She added : ‘ I have to say the shadow education secretary said to me last week in education questions “ Not my responsibility , love ” . ‘ I ’ m afraid to say there can be things that are said in the heat of the moment on all sides of the house. ’ The heckle is thought to have come as Mrs Morgan confronted Labour over its tuition fees policy . Higher education fees are strictly a matter for shadow business secretary Chuka Umunna , not Mr Hunt . Mrs Morgan also revealed she did not find the Commons chamber during Prime Minister ’ s Questions intimidating . She added : ‘ Prime Minister ’ s Questions is a tiny part of the week ... The work we do in our constituencies , our surgeries , helping people , making the case for our areas to government , that is something women are absolutely brilliant at doing . ‘ The tone of the debate when you get women ... is very different . We need more women in Parliament. ’ Labour last night declined to comment .
Nicky Morgan said Tristram Hunt made remark 'in the heat of the moment ' Claimed it showed disparaging comments are made by MPs from all parties . Remarks echo David Cameron 's infamous 'calm down dear ' put down . Mrs Morgan dismissed the claim that the PM was 'innately sexist ' She said he was a 'feminist ' and insisted he was 'on the side of women '