July 9 (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

- Carlsberg has agreed to buy British soft

drinks maker Britvic ( BTVCF ) for 3.3 billion pounds ($4.23

billion), a move the Danish brewer said would forge a UK

beverage "powerhouse" and that sent both companies' shares

higher.

The Guardian

- Britain's battle against inflation remains incomplete,

requiring interest rates to be kept at elevated levels for

longer than expected in financial markets, said senior Bank of

England policymaker, Jonathan Haskel.

The Telegraph

- UK Labour party's Tony Blair warned that Keir Starmer will

have to put up taxes by more than 50 billion pounds unless he

comes up with radical new ways to improve productivity.

Sky News

- British lender Metro Bank ( MTRBF ) is reviving its plans

to offload a mortgage portfolio worth billions of pounds, months

after an investor bailout helped the bank narrowly escape

collapse.

- Richard Holden resigned as Conservative party chair on

Monday after the Tories suffered defeat in the general election.

($1 = 0.7808 pounds)

(Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom)