Thursday newspaper round-up: JCB, Amazon, house prices

One of Britain’s leading businessmen has told his 6,000 employees in the UK that there is “very little to fear” from leaving the European Union and he is confident that the country can “stand on its own two feet”. In the first such letter from a Brexit supporter to his workforce, Lord Bamford, chairman of JCB, set out the case for leaving the bloc, saying that it was of “diminishing economic importance”. – The Times

Margaret Thatcher's defence secretary during the Falklands War has suspended his membership of the Conservative Party because of David Cameron’s “tirade of fear” during the EU referendum campaign. Sir John Nott, who served in the Government between 1979 and 1983, has warned that Mr Cameron and George Osborne have “poisoned the debate” with their “frenetic” warnings about the consequences of a Brexit. - The Telegraph

Amazon is stepping up its battle against British supermarkets with the launch of fresh food deliveries on Thursday. The online specialist’s Amazon Fresh service will offer more than 130,000 groceries to homes in north and east London, including thousands of fresh produce, dairy and bakery items that the company has not previously sold in the UK. – The Guardian

House prices are heading for a short-term dip amid uncertainty over the EU referendum outcome, according to surveyors. For the first time since 2012, more surveyors expect prices to fall in the next three months than those predicting an increase, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) said. – The Mirror

Twenty million Vodafone's customers in the UK are being urged to look closely at their bills following a huge rise reported problems. Thousands of new complaints have been received and it is suspected there has been a massive problem with IT systems at the telecoms giant. The major gripe has been with billing errors after a new system was introduced at the end of last year. - The Daily Mail

Tesco Mobile is offering customers a discount on their bills if they are willing to view an advertisement on their phones, as the company looks to find new ways to help marketers avoid ad-blocking software. – Financial Times