Jan 18 (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
A former KPMG partner responsible for auditing Carillion has accused his junior colleagues of lying and making fantasy claims over his alleged role in forging documents to mislead the accounting regulator. https://bit.ly/3rqsoy6
The private equity firm bidding for Clinigen has bowed to shareholder pressure and sweetened its offer for the Aim-listed drugs provider by another 100 million pounds. https://bit.ly/3ruRKL0
The Guardian
The Scottish government is in line for a windfall of almost 700 million pounds ($955.78 million) after the largest ever auction of the country's seabed plots attracted bids from big oil and renewable energy companies hoping to build next generation windfarms. https://bit.ly/3GForvE
The culture secretary, Nadine Dorries, has confirmed that the BBC's funding will be frozen for the next two years – but has softened her stance on the permanent abolition of the television licence fee. https://bit.ly/3rqRIUL
The Telegraph
Sadiq Khan, London's mayor, is considering a new road pricing policy to encourage drivers of diesel and petrol cars to switch to electric vehicles or to use public transport instead. https://bit.ly/3264dfA
GlaxoSmithKline is courting the sovereign wealth funds of Qatar and Singapore as cornerstone investors in a listing of its 50 billion pounds consumer business as it seeks to head off a risky takeover by Unilever. https://bit.ly/3nylxl6
Sky News
UK's Construction group Kier in advanced talks to buy rival Tilbury Douglas. https://bit.ly/3nCuHwP
Finance chief Mickey Kalifa in talks to quit M&C Saatchi as it fends off takeover bid. https://bit.ly/3FDOClf
The Independent
Tory peer Michelle Mone is being investigated over alleged links between her and a company that was awarded PPE contracts worth more than 200 million pounds via a "VIP lane". https://bit.ly/328yw5x ($1 = 0.7324 pounds) (Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom)
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