Billionaire boss to review spending

Sir Philip, owner of clothing retailer Arcadia Group, will scrutinise expenditure from the past three years to try and identify savings.

The conclusions from the external review will feed into the Comprehensive Spending Review due to be completed in October.

Announcing the appointment, Cabinet Office Minister Francis Maude said: "Sir Philip has made clear to the Government the importance of his business remit which has always been that efficient operating is different from cost cutting and removing jobs."

Sir Philip, 58, owns more than 2,000 shops in the UK, including the BHS and Topshop chains.