Dec 28 (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

The departments most involved in planning for Britain's departure from the European Union are least likely to release data under freedom of information laws, Whitehall figures show. http://bit.ly/2BHCWPv

Reid Hoffman, one of the billionaire founders of the social network LinkedIn, has apologised for unwittingly funding a disinformation campaign on Facebook and Twitter that allegedly sought to pervert the course of a Senate election last year. http://bit.ly/2BK02VL

The Guardian

France's Vinci is taking a controlling stake in London's Gatwick for 2.9 billion pounds ($3.67 billion), a week after UK's second-biggest airport was brought to a standstill by a series of drone sightings. http://bit.ly/2BIVXkz

The Telegraph

Members of parliament have warned of the dangers of the Brexit transition period after it emerged that hundreds of thousands of small businesses could be forced to pay VAT for the first time after Britain leaves the European Union. http://bit.ly/2BLLDZf

Three, a subsidiary of Hong Kong conglomerate Hutchison Holdings, said it continues to be in close contact with the government over its earlier agreement with Huawei Technologies Co Ltd after the UK defence secretary voiced "grave concerns" over use of the controversial Chinese company's equipment in the roll-out of 5G telecom networks across UK. http://bit.ly/2QWpvpp

The Independent

British opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn has said the Labour party's attempt to force a general election by tabling a no-confidence motion was a matter of "when, not if." https://ind.pn/2QQiciV

($1 = 0.7910 pounds)

(Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom; editing by Chris Reese)