Sir Philip Green to make David Cameron's Whitehall cuts

David Cameron has recruited Topshop owner Sir Philip Green to lead a review of government spending.

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

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: "We are extremely fortunate to have Sir Philip, with his immense commercial experience and of course his fantastic track record at managing large organisations, on board.

"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."

The billionaire retail tycoon, who will be supported by a team of civil servants and report to Maude and Chief Treasury Secretary Danny Alexander, said: "I will give this efficiency review my very best effort knowing how hugely important it is to the recovery of the country.

"I want to help focus, motivate and energise to achieve these efficiency savings. It is these actions that will re-start growth in the UK."

Alexander said: "The Spending Review is about promoting growth, rebalancing the economy and completely re-evaluating the Government's role in providing public services. Sir Philip Green's efficiency review will play an important role as we totally re-think how the Government spends taxpayers' money.

"Tough decisions need to be taken in order to ensure that Britain lives within its means. By being prepared to do things differently, we can ensure that this process will enable us to get more for less, and support our front line services."

Sir Philip, 58, owns more than 2,000 shops across Britain. His empire, which also includes BHS, is estimated to make up 12% of the nation's clothing retail market.