On Professor Lord Bhattacharyya:

There is no need to exaggerate the contribution that Kumar made to our country and to the world.

His momentous achievements speak for themselves. Over many decades no one, no one has done more for British manufacturing industry.

No one has done more to link the academic community of this country to British industry and no one has done more to bring the voice of the scientific community and of industry to the attention of Government and forcing us I may say, to listen and no one is more respected for doing all these things than Kumar.

I can say without fear of contradiction that he was the most significant force in restoring manufacturing to the centre of our economy.

Praise has come from no matter the party label, all our Prime Ministers, from Lady Thatcher who called Kumar a pioneer, David Cameron, Theresa May and Tony Blair who spoke of how Kumar combined academic excellence with industrial relevance.