BT, Lloyds chiefs among new business advisers to Sunak -Sky News

(Reuters) -BT Group's new CEO Allison Kirkby and Lloyds Banking Group boss Charlie Nunn have joined a cohort of business leaders who will be named by Downing Street as advisers to British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Sky News reported on Tuesday.

Kirkby and Nunn are set to join Sunak's final business council along with senior executives from some of Britain's largest companies including Almac Group, Greggs, ITV, Rolls-Royce, Scottish Power and Unilever, the report said, adding an announcement was expected on Wednesday.

Downing Street, BT and Lloyds did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment outside normal business hours.

Last year's business council, convened by Sunak in July, included senior executives from AstraZeneca, NatWest Group, BAE Systems, Sainsbury's, Vodafone, Diageo, Barclays, and Shell.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Tuesday cut its forecast for British economic growth next year and warned the government to not cut taxes in the run-up to a national election expected later this year due to high levels of public debt and growing demands on services.

(Reporting by Jyoti Narayan in Bengaluru; Editing by Leslie Adler and Jamie Freed)