March 23 - 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

- Police patrols have been increased at airports, railway stations, ports and at events and tourist attractions across Britain after the attacks in Brussels. (http://thetim.es/1pHpRy6)

- The economic slowdown will cost 300 jobs at Wolseley Plc as Britain's largest plumber's merchant responds to an unexpected winter downturn by closing 25 branches nationwide. (http://thetim.es/1o53Ibp)

The Guardian

- Darren Topp, British Home Stores chief executive, will address a meeting at Novotel London West in Hammersmith in a bid to persuade landlords, suppliers and others who have registered a claim to give the struggling retailer another chance to stay on the high street. (http://bit.ly/1o54tBl)

- The metals tycoon Sanjeev Gupta has vowed to take on the "herculean task" of reviving the British steel industry, as his Liberty House firm closes in on a deal to save two Scottish steel mills. (http://bit.ly/1o54PI9)

The Telegraph

- Vodafone Group Plc's consumer director Cindy Rose has quit after less than three years at the company, despite having been hired partly to launch a pay-TV service that has yet to materialise. (http://bit.ly/1o553im)

Sky News

- Polestar Corp, printer of some of UK's best-selling magazines including Radio Times and Private Eye, has appointed PricewaterhouseCoopers to carry out a pre-pack administration following months of uncertainty about its future. (http://bit.ly/1o53j8L)

- French power firm Electricite de France SA is expected to announce its decision on the controversial British Hinkley Point nuclear power plant in early May, France's economy minister Emmanuel Macron said. (http://bit.ly/1o5571B)

The Independent

- The price of oil has fallen since the attacks in Brussels on Tuesday morning as investors look to put their money into so-called save-haven assets like gold and government bonds. (http://ind.pn/1o55Gsh)

- UK finance minister George Osborne is a whisker away from missing his target to cut the budget deficit in the current financial year, 2015/16. Public sector borrowing, excluding borrowing by publicly owned banks, fell 14 billion pounds ($19.91 billion) in the 11 months to February compared to the same period a year earlier, the Office for National Statistics said. (http://ind.pn/1WGVkL7) ($1 = 0.7031 pounds) (Compiled by Shalini Nagarajan in Bengaluru; Editing by Bill Rigby)