Sir James Dyson accuses the BBC of a grotesque mischaracterisation: the BBC twisted the truth over my links to the Tories for politically motivated mudslinging. I never was a major donor nor I tried to extract favours from Boris Johnson. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/04/27/truth-contact-boris-johnson/

When the PM rang on March 13 2020 to request urgent help developing ventilators for the NHS, my immediate instinct was to do all we could to assist. We put commercial projects on hold and engaged 450 Dyson people from around the globe to develop a ventilator from scratch.

There were myriad questions, from technical to medical and compliance. In this context, we wrote formally to the Chancellor on March 15 for clarification on how UK tax rules would apply. We did not wait for a response and started work immediately.

These issues were subsequently raised with the PM by text, as we sought urgent assurances. The clarifications we asked for were of general application affecting the treatment of international businesses and people supporting the national effort, including health workers.

We worked around the clock to develop a new ventilator in 30 days, we received a conditional government order for 10,000 machines and by May 8 we were ready for production with medical approvals imminent. However, mercifully, our ventilators were not needed.

We never sought or received any benefit from the ventilator programme. We voluntarily forwent the chance to reclaim £20 million of costs from the Government. We have never claimed any Covid support, including furlough, for any of our businesses, from any government anywhere.

And yet, it has been argued that in the PM’s direct dealings with me I was seeking some kind of preferment. What favours did anyone believe I was exacting from contact with the PM as part of a project where Dyson voluntarily donated £20 million of its resources?

It was entirely the right thing for the PM to contact me directly. We have 4,000 people in the UK as well as global supply chains and advanced manufacturing expertise. Dyson teams around the world volunteered, enabling 24-hour working.

In these circumstances why wouldn’t we seek clarification, when we needed it, from the decision-makers themselves? Far from concealing the text exchanges, we shared them explicitly with officials at the Treasury and No 10 via email on March 28.

The BBC’s characterisation of me as a prominent Conservative donor or supporter leveraging a position of power to extract favours from the PM is completely untrue. I have met him only 3 times, the last time in 2016. I have not attended any Conservative social events.

When the BBC contacted us, we answered all of Laura Kuenssberg’s many questions. She did not ask if I am a Conservative donor. In her broadcast, however, the BBC claimed I was a prominent Conservative supporter.

She later admitted it was based on a charitable donation shown on the Electoral Commission register of £11,450, made by The James Dyson Foundation to the Wiltshire Engineering Festival. A staggering claim.

She and the BBC made this grotesque mischaracterisation to justify their "sleaze" story which would otherwise simply not have stood up. The festival, run in 2016 and 2017, was attended by thousands of local school pupils to encourage young people into engineering.

Kuenssberg also argued that I had spoken at the Conservative Party Conference in 2009 to further justify her story. But I have spoken at the Labour Party conference as well, in 1998, and on both occasions the topic was engineering.

On the decision to headquarter Dyson in Singapore. This was a commercial decision based on the demands of the Dyson business – Asia is our fastest-growing region, where our leadership team is based, and where our manufacturing is done.

In no way it detracts from our commitment to the UK, where we employ thousands, have our own university, and have just announced a further expansion of 200 roles. We pay more than £100 million a year in UK tax. All consistent with the Global UK Brexit now frees us to pursue.

Look at the UK’s vaccine programme to understand the value of independent action which can be swift and decisive. Companies and individuals have gone above and beyond in responding to this crisis. This should not be diminished by politically motivated mudslinging after the event.