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Matt Hancock rebuffs CES chief’s claims that British government neglects startups

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By Katie Deighton, Senior Reporter

January 6, 2017 | 3 min read

Matt Hancock, the minister for digital and culture policy, has dismissed claims from CES chief Gary Shapiro that the UK is not doing enough to support tech startups.

Matt Hancock defends government's support of the tech sector

Matt Hancock defends government's support of the tech sector

Earlier this week Shapiro, the president of the Consumer Technology Association, said that Britain has been "a little slow to the game” when it comes to showcasing new innovations at CES, and that its government’s lack of support for tech companies attending the trade show is a “source of embarrassment”.

When presented with the comments by the BBC, Hancock said: “He’s wrong on that. The British presence here is significant. What it shows is there’s a constant battle to stay ahead.

He added assertions that the government has not supported enough companies to come to CES were "misrepresentative".

“The number of British companies who are here, in part because of government support, is strong,” Hancock said. “This is about making sure that we are showcasing Britain around the world. Other countries are trying to do that too so we’ve got to make sure that we keep pushing at it. That’s one of the reasons I’m here.”

Shapiro hinted that a lack of British ministerial presence at CES could be due to its location of Las Vegas. He said: "When I was in London recently, I raised it with one of the ministers, and they said: 'I can get approval to go to South by Southwest, but because it's Las Vegas, for some reason it's frowned upon'.

“That’s a pretty short-sighted attitude."

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