PRESS DIGEST- British Business – May 22

May 22 (Reuters) – The following are the top stories on the business pages of British newspapers. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

The Times

– New measures to keep the lights on as the pandemic takes its toll on electricity demand will cost about 500 million pounds ($611.05 million) this summer, National Grid estimates. bit.ly/2XdPhpm

– UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has ordered civil servants to draw up plans code-named Project Defend to end Britain’s reliance on China for vital medical supplies and other strategic imports in light of the coronavirus crisis. bit.ly/2TqzWAw

The Guardian

– The UK competition watchdog is investigating package holiday firms after receiving thousands of complaints from consumers who have been unable to recoup money on cancelled breaks. bit.ly/2TvEHcl

– The chairman and chief executive officer of EasyJet, together with two other directors, face being axed on Friday as EasyJet’s founder, Stelios Haji-Ioannou, seeks to oust them in a row over strategy. bit.ly/3e7cVur

The Telegraph

– Lloyds bank has suffered a bruising backlash over its new three-year pay policy as more than a third of voting investors opposed the plan. bit.ly/2XnA9Wo

– Finance Minister Rishi Sunak is facing calls to allow COVID-19 loans to struggling firms to be converted to grants or for repayments to be linked to profits. bit.ly/2TJcVJB

Sky News

– Manchester United fell into the red in the first three months of the year as the COVID-19 pandemic cost the club an estimated 23 million pounds in revenues — with a further hit to come. bit.ly/2ZnpwFT

– Thousands of coronavirus tests conducted at the government’s main testing laboratory do not produce a clear outcome, Sky News can reveal, forcing people to wait days while they are retested. bit.ly/2AS5qt9

The Independent

– British businessman Simon Dolan has applied to the High Court for a judicial review of England’s lockdown, which he claims was introduced unlawfully and disproportionately breaches freedoms protected by the European Convention on Human Rights. bit.ly/3bRTOTQ ($1 = 0.8183 pounds) (Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom)

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