PRESS DIGEST- British Business - April 29

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

- The rail industry is to call for the present train franchise system to be scrapped, that long-distance routes are opened up to competition between multiple operators and that commuter services into London and around leading cities come under the control of local authorities. http://bit.ly/2PF6DHC - Investors are preparing a series of rebellions, with Convatec, the embattled medical devices group, Barclays Plc and the owner of the Daily Mirror newspaper in the line of fire. http://bit.ly/2PCIh1e

The Guardian - Russian oligarch Evgeny Lebedev, the owner of the Evening Standard and the Independent, is in talks to offload his loss-making London Live TV station. http://bit.ly/2PzmNlC

- Anti-fracking campaigners have welcomed the resignation of the government's shale gas commissioner, who quit in frustration at "ridiculous" regulations limiting drillers from causing earth tremors, which she claimed were hobbling the industry. http://bit.ly/2PCqffl The Telegraph

- Pressure is growing on the Government to reclassify Navy support vessels as warships, to save thousands of jobs. http://bit.ly/2PxmXKe - Skyrora, the Edinburgh-based rocket company, is hunting UK launch sites for its test programme as the country tries to secure a leading position in the growing small satellite sector. http://bit.ly/2PzpW4P

Sky News - The Investor Forum, a powerful‎ City body whose members control 14 trillion pounds in assets, has waded into the debate about Barclays Plc's universal banking strategy ahead of a bid by a dissident investor to force his way onto its board. http://bit.ly/2PwHEG8

The Independent - A possible drone sighting at Gatwick Airport led three flights to be diverted to Stansted Airport in Essex on Sunday. The two EasyJet Plc flights – one from Barcelona and one from Amsterdam – were initially sent to Stansted, before taking off again to land at Gatwick. https://ind.pn/2PBWBqD (Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom)

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)