Dyson says UK government no longer requires its ventilators

[LONDON] The company owned by billionaire James Dyson won't supply the UK government with medical ventilators it was developing because they're no longer required.

Dyson had spent £20 million (US$25 million) on the project and won't be seeking any government money to pay for it, the founder said. The company didn't explain why the order, which it said last month was for 10,000 units of a prototype ventilator called the CoVent, was cancelled.

"I have some hope that our ventilator may yet help the response in other countries, but that requires further time and investigation," he said Friday in a statement.

Shortages of medical equipment, coupled with logistical problems getting it to the right place, have dogged the government's response to a crisis that has Boris Johnson's administration on the back foot. The order that Dyson was working on followed a national plea from the prime minister asking industry to pull together and combat the coronavirus.

UK fatalities from Covid-19 are set to top 20,000 this weekend, a grim milestone that will generate further negative headlines for the Conservatives. As for Johnson, he's yet to return to work, a full month after he caught the virus.

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