PRESS DIGEST- Financial Times - Jan 10

Jan 10 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories in the Financial Times. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

Headlines

UK squeezes extra 136 mln stg tax payment from Apple

(http://on.ft.com/2ALjYVu)

Burger chain Byron eyes restaurant closures as part of rescue plan

(http://on.ft.com/2AK1a9l)

UK counter-terrorism police chief to step down

(http://on.ft.com/2CWtT0l)

Marks and Spencer aims to trim technology bill with new IT plan

(http://on.ft.com/2CYNZHH)

Rio Tinto set to sell Dunkerque aluminium smelter to UK's 'Man of Steel'

(http://on.ft.com/2CUZyiM)

Overview

Apple Inc has been forced to pay an extra 136 million pounds tax bill in the United Kingdom after "an extensive audit" by HM Revenue & Customs in the latest crackdown affecting the U.S. tech giant. The payment was shown in the accounts of Apple Europe, one of the group's UK subsidiaries, which said "this payment of additional tax and interest reflects the company's increased activity".

Burger chain Byron said on Tuesday 20 of its 67 outlets across the UK, which employ about 1,800 people, could be closed as part of a sweeping restructuring plan, known as a company voluntary agreement.

Britain's counter-terrorism police chief Mark Rowley was to step down, in a move that risks complicating the struggle against extremist violence amid a sharp upturn in the threat. Rowley, Assistant Commissioner for Specialist Operations of the Metropolitan Police, was leaving policing to "pursue other challenges," the Metropolitan Police Service said.

British retailer Marks and Spencer Group Plc, which is battling to turn itself around, said it would cut its technology bill by reducing suppliers and focus its IT business on India's Tata Consultancy Services Ltd as principal technology partner.

Rio Tinto has accepted an offer for its Dunkerque aluminium smelter, Europe's biggest producer of the lightweight metal, from acquisitive UK industrialist Sanjeev Gupta. The planned purchase, which could be announced as soon as Wednesday, is the latest in a spree of deals by Gupta. (Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom; Editing by Sandra Maler)