Category Archives: James Dyson

Revealed: billionaires are ‘ultimate beneficiaries’ linked to €3bn of EU farming subsidies

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Thousands of small farms have closed according to analysis of official but opaque data from EU member states

The European Union gave generous farming subsidies to the companies of more than a dozen billionaires between 2018 and 2021, the Guardian can reveal, including companies owned by the former Czech prime minister Andrej Babiš and the British businessman Sir James Dyson.

Billionaires were “ultimate beneficiaries” linked to €3.3bn (£2.76bn) of EU farming handouts over the four-year period even as thousands of small farms were closed down, according to the analysis of official but opaque data from EU member states.

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James Dyson’s £6m donation to primary school approved despite concerns

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Worries about impact on neighbouring schools of money for Malmesbury primary in Wiltshire, near Dyson’s campus

A £6m donation from Sir James Dyson to help fund the expansion of his local state primary school has been approved by the government, despite concerns about the potential impact on neighbouring schools.

The education secretary, Gillian Keegan, announced on Monday that she had given the green light for the inventor’s donation to Malmesbury Church of England primary school in Wiltshire, which is close to Dyson’s research and development campus.

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Dyson tells libel trial Daily Mirror article was a distressing ‘personal attack’

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Inventor is suing publisher over ‘rogues’ gallery’ article that stated he championed Vote Leave before moving global HQ to Singapore

An article that featured Sir James Dyson in a “rogues’ gallery” and stated that he had “championed Vote Leave … before moving his global head office to Singapore” was “damaging and distressing” to the inventor and entrepreneur, the high court has heard.

In a written statement to the court, Dyson described a Daily Mirror article published last year as a “personal attack on all that I have done and achieved in my lifetime” and said it was “highly distressing and hurtful”.

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Dyson among British entrepreneurs who own UK property via overseas companies

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James Dyson and Tina Green, wife of Philip Green, among British business figures on register of overseas entities

Billionaires and business figures including James Dyson and Tina Green own UK property via overseas companies, according to a new register aimed at improving transparency.

The tycoons feature on a list that a Guardian investigation revealed last week includes the racing driver Lewis Hamilton, the Chinese government, a string of Gulf royals and at least 20 donors to the Tory party.

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James Dyson sues Channel 4 for libel over news report

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Report suggested Dyson was complicit in abuse and exploitation at Malaysia factory, claim inventor’s lawyers

The billionaire businessman James Dyson is attempting to sue Channel 4 over a news report about claims of abuse and exploitation in the Malaysia factory of a former supplier to his firm.

The lead story on Channel 4 News on 10 February suggested Dyson, second on this year’s Sunday Times UK rich list, was complicit in the practices at the ATA-owned factory, the inventor’s lawyer told the high court in London on Thursday.

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‘Mad and totally unethical’: Dominic Cummings hits out at Boris Johnson

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Ex-aide alleges PM tried to quash leak inquiry that implicated ally and wanted donors to fund work on flat

Dominic Cummings has launched an unprecedented and extraordinary attack on Boris Johnson, alleging that the prime minister tried to quash a leak inquiry as it implicated an ally, and hatched a “possibly illegal” plan for donors to pay to renovate his flat.

The outburst by Cummings, a day after anonymous No 10 sources claimed that he had leaked private text messages between Johnson and the billionaire James Dyson, prompted Labour to accuse the government of “fighting each other like rats in a sack”.

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Device to curb microplastic emissions wins James Dyson award

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Tyre attachment designed by four students aims to reduce road transport pollution

A device that captures microplastic particles from tyres as they are emitted – and could help reduce the devastating pollution they cause – has won its designers a James Dyson award.

The Tyre Collective, a group of masters students from Imperial College London and the Royal College of Art, scooped the UK prize of the international competition with their solution for the growing environmental scourge of tyre wear caused by road transport.

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James Dyson reported to have bought second ultra-luxury Singapore home

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Weeks after paying £43m for the city-state’s most expensive penthouse, the inventor has reportedly lined up a £26.5m house

The inventor of the bagless vacuum cleaner, James Dyson, has reportedly lined up the purchase of a second luxury property in Singapore, complete with an infinity pool and indoor waterfall.

Weeks after it was revealed that he had snapped up the city-state’s priciest penthouse, the Straits Times newspaper reported on Friday that the British billionaire had been given approval to buy another hugely expensive home.

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Half of England is owned by less than 1% of the population

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Research by author reveals corporations and aristocrats are the biggest landowners

Half of England is owned by less than 1% of its population, according to new data shared with the Guardian that seeks to penetrate the secrecy that has traditionally surrounded land ownership.

The findings, described as “astonishingly unequal”, suggest that about 25,000 landowners – typically members of the aristocracy and corporations – have control of half of the country.

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