Raspberry Pi stock stuck in warehouse

The first 2,000 Raspberry Pi computers set for distribution in the UK will not leave their warehouse until confusion over compliance testing is resolved, the gadget’s creators have said.

Suppliers say they will not send out the microcomputers until they have undergone electromagnetic testing and are given a European Conformity mark for meeting safety standards.

Raspberry Pi, a British-design microcomputer that costs little more than £20, is hoped will revitalise young people’s interest in computer science.

At launch it sold out in a matter of hours, with demand at one stage crashing the company’s website.

The Raspberry Pi Foundation said it did not believe the gadget needed electromagnetic testing by virtue of being a development device.

“The good news is that our first 2,000 boards arrived in the UK on Monday and that we are working to get them CE marked as soon as is humanly possible,” the foundation said.