Sept 29 (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

Palmer & Harvey is close to striking a takeover deal with Carlyle, the U.S. buyout firm, after securing emergency funding from two of its main suppliers. http://bit.ly/2fvLo9O

BT Group Plc could be forced to stump up an extra 2 billion pounds ($2.69 billion) over the next two years to reduce its growing pension deficit, posing a cashflow problem for the telecom group, a leading credit rating agency has warned. http://bit.ly/2xFnj8G

The Guardian

The British manufacturer Brompton has embarked on an unprecedented recall of nearly 150,000 of its folding bikes over concerns about faulty axles. http://bit.ly/2ywyEHh

Lloyd's of London, the world's biggest insurance market, has started paying out the first of $4.5 billion of claims related to tropical storm Harvey and Hurricane Irma, which wreaked havoc in the southern U.S. and Caribbean. http://bit.ly/2yvVUVT

The Telegraph

The future of Ford Motor Co's Bridgend plant has been thrown into further doubt after luxury car maker Jaguar Land Rover revealed it was bringing forward the end of a contract to produce engines at the Welsh site. http://bit.ly/2xB1xp6

Theresa May said Transport for London's decision to stop Uber Technologies Inc operating in the capital has "damaged lives" and called the ban "disproportionate". http://bit.ly/2k4PL0w

Sky News

Pension trustees at Carillion Plc the crisis-hit construction group, have called in the world's largest audit firm to advise them amid a massive financial restructuring. http://bit.ly/2ydlYZO

The head of UK's aviation regulator has told Sky News that he takes a promise by Ryanair Holding Plc to meet its obligations over mass flight cancellations "with a pinch of salt". http://bit.ly/2k4QiQ4

The Independent

Royal Mail Plc is seeking to employ 20,000 temporary workers to help sort the Christmas post and manage an increasing amount of online Christmas shopping, the company has said. http://ind.pn/2yKZ6Oy

Nearly a third of all UK electricity came from renewable sources in the second quarter of this year, setting a new record for clean energy generation, the government said. http://ind.pn/2fBcqAb ($1 = 0.7448 pounds) (Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom; Editing by Sandra Maler)