MALMESBURY-based entrepreneur and vacuum cleaner tycoon James Dyson has been appointed by Trade and Industry Secretary Patricia Hewitt as an 'innovation tsar'.

With his history of perseverance in the face of technical and business adversity, he knows what he is talking about. However, his elevation is overshadowed by the fact that, rather than remaining loyal to his British workforce, he saw fit to transfer production of the cleaner that made his name to the Far East, citing reduced production costs.

The 800 Malmesbury workers who lost their jobs could perhaps be forgiven for not congratulating their former boss in his latest moment of glory.