NHS calls for government to honour funding pledges post Brexit
Simon Stevens, head of the National Health Service in England, has called on the UK Government to honour promises on NHS funding after Britain's Brexit vote. At the same time, a leading think-tank has warned that leaving the EU would pose "significant risks" to the funding levels available to an already cash-strapped NHS.

Britain is turning to the private sector to prepare for Brexit, seeking to second consultants to boost a civil service with almost no experience of complex trade negotiations. Sir Jeremy Heywood, the country’s top civil servant, has held talks with companies including accountants EY and KPMG, and the consultants McKinsey, as he prepares for a negotiation with Brussels described by outgoing prime minister David Cameron as “the most important task the British civil service has undertaken in decades”. - Financial Times

Senior rail executives responsible for troubled Southern commuter services are to be grilled by MPs on Tuesday as the controversy over the chaos suffered by passengers travelling into London continues to mount. Charles Horton, the chief executive of Go-Ahead Group's Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR), which runs the Southern rail franchise, and Dyan Crowther, its chief operating officer, are to be questioned by the Transport Select Committee. It comes as GTR prepares to publish a revised timetable for Southern tomorrow, which the RMT says could result in 350 services being cancelled each day. - Telegraph

The head of the National Health Service in England called for the government to honour existing NHS funding pledges after Brexit. Simon Stevens’ comments came as a leading think-tank warned that the forthcoming exit from Europe would pose “significant risks” to the sums available to the NHS which is already facing a historic financial squeeze. - Financial Times

Activist investors are calling for John Menzies to split in two and hire a chairman. The distribution firm, which started as a bookshop in 1833 but now focuses on airport logistics, is facing mounting pressure from German-based Shareholder Value Management (SVM). - Mail

Waitrose has unveiled plans to sell more products overseas after striking a deal with online retailer British Corner Shop. The upmarket supermarket will offer more than 2,000 own-label products through the retailer, which ships British products to more than 138 countries. - Telegraph

Zlatan Ibrahimovic, the mercurial Sweden striker, was the first high-profile footballer to feel the bite from Brexit — by the time he signed for Manchester United last week, his sterling-denominated pay packet was worth roughly 10 per cent less against the dollar. Currency fluctuations were not discussed at length as Ibrahimovic was reportedly offered a £220,000-a-week deal but other clubs are taking advice on how Brexit will change how they sign players and the sharp fall in the pound will land clubs with higher bills for foreign players this summer. - Financial Times

Britain could lose up to 4.5 percentage points of growth by 2019 if it presses ahead with Brexit, the head of the International Monetary Fund has said. Christine Lagarde also argued that the European Union could make the best of the vote by getting on with decisions unencumbered by British opposition. - The Times

Australia's Labor party has blamed the coalition government for the instability of a possible hung parliament after ratings agencies raised concerns about Australia’s AAA credit rating. On Monday two credit agencies warned political gridlock and the inability to pass budget savings in the medium term could result in increased debt and lower Australia’s rating. - The Guardian

Standard Life Investments suspended dealings in its £2.9 billion UK Real Estate fund yesterday after investors rushed to withdraw their cash in the wake of the Brexit vote. “The decision was taken following an increase in redemption requests as a result of uncertainty for the UK commercial real estate market following the vote,” Standard Life said in a statement. “The suspension was requested to protect the interests of all investors in the fund.” - The Times

The so-called Chicken King of Britain could be about to gobble up the Bernard Matthews’ turkey empire. Businessman Ranjit Boparan, whose £3bn food empire includes 2 Sisters Food Group – which owns an array of businesses – and fish and chip brand Harry Ramsden’s, is eyeing up troubled Bernard Matthews. - Mail

The former owners of the oil giant Yukos have accused the Belgian government of caving in to “bullying” by the Kremlin after it attempted to block court moves to seize Russian state assets. In filings to a Brussels court, Belgian officials warned that seizing Russian bank accounts and properties owned by the state news agencies would cause a “major and especially serious diplomatic incident with the Russian state”. - Telegraph

A brand new Land Rover on the road for only £2,000? There are two catches: it’s smaller than the real thing and illegal, but the police probably won’t bother you, so reserve your new car today. Labelled the CNEV (China Electric Vehicle) Rover, this tiny four-wheeler resembles the British marque that inspired it and which sells well to China’s upper middle classes who seek the real deal. For the millions with less cash to burn, a compact, counterfeit clone has obvious appeal. - The Times

British firms must “take the fight to the criminals” to prevent a rising tide of cyber-attacks by sophisticated organised crime gangs, according to a report. In a joint report, telecoms group BT and consulting firm KPMG called on companies to address the “industrialisation of cybercrime”, warning against the danger of overplaying the more high-profile threat of lone hackers. - The Guardian