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

- ConocoPhillips is drawing up plans to shut down one of the North Sea's biggest gas pipeline systems in a move that threatens to knock out 10 percent of the UK's gas capacity and a string of active fields. (http://thetim.es/1Si9DlE)

- A multimillion-pound Revenue & Customs publicity campaign to stamp out tax evasion and avoidance used an advertising agency ultimately controlled in an offshore haven. HMRC spent more than 6 million pounds($8.55 million)on the campaigns, including 300,000 pounds specifically on offshore evasion. (http://thetim.es/1SiaSRG)

The Guardian

- The cost of a first class stamp will rise to 64p this week, taking the price increase to 100 percent over the past decade. First class stamp prices are rising by 1p, while a second class stamp will rise by the same amount to 55p. (http://bit.ly/1Si9wX9)

- Britain's manufacturers are struggling to recruit skilled workers and keep pace with global technology, according to business group EEF's report that criticises the government for lack of support. (http://bit.ly/1SiaIdg)

The Telegraph

- CEO of the takeover target Premier Foods Plc, Gavin Darby, has claimed a rival bidder could challenge its American suitor McCormick, as he defended the company's heavily criticised decision to reject a 60p per share offer. (http://bit.ly/1Si9Mpd)

- More than 9000 jobs in Port Talbot hang in the balance as crunch talks begin at Tata Steel Ltd in India over the Welsh site's future. Fears are rife among workers that the Indian multinational may pull the plug on the loss-making plant. (http://bit.ly/1Siai6x)

Sky News

- Notonthehighstreet, an online marketplace, has been approached by a number of new investors about injecting funds into the business to allow it to accelerate its expansion. (http://bit.ly/1Si9m22)

The Independent

- UK think tank Smith Institute, found that two-thirds of employees say they are working longer than two years ago, but only 10 percent believe they are more productive. A quarter of staff believed their productivity had declined over the period. (http://ind.pn/1Si9QW3) ($1 = 0.7018 pounds) (Compiled by Sangameswaran S in Bengaluru)