Michael Gove has been accused of trying to sidestep the UK’s health watchdog to push through a deal with James Dyson for NHS ventilators during the pandemic.
Gove under fire at Covid inquiry
The UK Covid-19 inquiry heard claims that Gove wanted to “circumvent” the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) to fast-track Dyson’s ventilator proposal.
Gove, who was the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster at the time, denied applying pressure on the MHRA. Giving evidence on Monday, he dismissed the idea as “ludicrous.”
“Just imagine the situation,” Gove said. “A minister – Matt Hancock, I, Boris Johnson – says we want to have a potentially lethal machine in hospitals just to meet an arbitrary deadline. It’s inconceivable.”
Internal emails paint a different picture
However, inquiry counsel Richard Wald KC read out an email from March 2020 written by Graeme Tunbridge, the MHRA’s director of devices. It claimed Gove was pushing Dyson’s bid on an “unrealistic” timescale and didn’t appreciate the risks involved.
Wald also pointed to an email from Gove’s private office. It stated that the MHRA should ensure Dyson’s ventilator was “tested and approved” by the end of the week — with products already sent to hospitals for human testing.
Gove brushed it off as “private office shorthand,” insisting he never pressured the MHRA.
“If I had told the MHRA to approve a product, they would have told me where to get off,” Gove said.
Senior officials raised concerns
John Manzoni, a senior Cabinet Office civil servant, wasn’t convinced. He said he stepped in during a meeting with Gove, Dyson and Gareth Rhys Williams (then the chief commercial officer) because he feared indirect pressure was being placed on the MHRA.
“I had to intervene to protect the integrity of the approval process,” Manzoni said.
Rhys Williams also raised concerns in a separate exchange. He called Gove’s tone “regrettable” and said Dyson’s ventilator sample “wasn’t ready to be shipped” anyway.
Did Dyson stand to profit?
The inquiry also heard that Lord Agnew, a Tory Treasury minister, suggested ventilators might need to be bought from Dyson so the company could market them as being “used in UK hospitals.”
A Dyson spokesperson denied any financial motive. They said Sir James Dyson responded to a personal request from Boris Johnson and diverted 450 engineers from other projects at significant cost to the company.
“Dyson had no intention of manufacturing ventilators for profit,” the spokesperson said.
In the end, changing treatments meant ventilators were no longer needed — and the government cancelled the order.
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