July 29 (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

- Former British business minister Kemi Badenoch launched

her bid to become leader of the opposition Conservative Party,

making her the sixth candidate seeking to replace the outgoing

Rishi Sunak, Badenoch announced in an article of The Times.

- The owner of London's Thames Tideway Tunnel has warned

that Thames Water may withhold tens of millions of pounds that

it owes on the project.

The Guardian

- Margherita Della Valle, CEO of telecom giant Vodafone ( VOD )

, has said Labour will fail to achieve its promise of

nationwide access to 5G by 2030 if the company's 15 billion

pound ($19.29 billion) merger with the rival Three UK is

blocked.

- UK port operators have reportedly said they must be

compensated by the government if it negotiates a deal to lower

trade barriers with the European Union.

The Telegraph

- Suella Braverman has announced her withdrawal from the

Conservative leadership race in an article for the Telegraph.

- Essex County Council in the U.S. is suing UK's Gigaclear

after its allegedly botched broadband rollout is claimed to have

left hundreds of homes without access to high-speed internet.

Sky News

- Rachel Reeves will signal Labour's plans to cut government

departments and the Civil Service and reveal a 20 billion pound

($25.73 billion) "black hole" she found in the books of the

Conservative Party.

- Eddie Jordan, the former Formula One team-owner, has

launched a multimillion pound legal fight against HSBC ( HSBC )

over its alleged mis-selling of a complex bond in which he

invested.

($1 = 0.7774 pounds)

(Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom)