Sir James Dyson’s £20m ‘CoVent’ ventilators ‘no longer required’ by the UK government

A ventilator designed by Dyson to help in the fight against the COVID-19 outbreak at a cost of £20m is ‘no longer required’ by the UK government, the vacuum cleaner company has said.

Billionaire entrepreneur Sir James Dyson previously revealed that the ‘CoVent’ was developed at the request of Prime Minister Boris Johnson, and that the government had ordered 10,000 units.

The Wiltshire-based firm responded as part of a national effort to increase the number of ventilators to treat patients with coronavirus.

In a message to staff, Dyson said: “Mercifully they are not required, but we don’t regret our contribution to the national effort for one moment. I have some hope that our ventilator may yet help the response in other countries, but that requires further time and investigation.

“We have spent around £20m on this project to date, but we will not accept any public money. The team have worked 24/7 to design and manufacture a sophisticated ventilator in a short timeframe – I hope they can spend this weekend with their families who will not have seen them for weeks.”