Jan 30 (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

- Ryanair RYA.I Chief Executive Michael O'Leary has said that he expects U.S. President Donald Trump's administration will be "much more supportive" of the hoped-for recovery at Boeing BA.N than the previous administration.

- British automotive parts supplier Dowlais DWL.L has become the latest British public company to attract interest from a U.S. peer American Axle AXL.N after agreeing on a deal that values the group at 1.2 billion pounds ($1.49 billion).

The Guardian

- Microsoft MSFT.O backed OpenAI has warned that Chinese startups are "constantly" using its technology to develop competing products and said it is "reviewing" allegations that DeepSeek used the ChatGPT maker's Artificial Intelligence$(AI)$ models to create a rival chatbot.

- Lloyds Banking Group LLOY.L has revealed plans to shut another 136 branches, weeks after a policy allowing customers to do their in-person banking across any of its three brands prompted fears that bosses could close up to a quarter of its high street sites.

The Telegraph

- British finance minister Rachel Reeves must prepare for a significant jump in defence spending as geopolitical pressures mount, Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey has warned.

- In a letter to British finance minister Rachel Reeves, 14 industry chiefs urged the Treasury to consider a 50% cut to the VAT charged on new electric vehicles or reducing VAT for public charging bays expecting that government-backed incentives would help boost sales.

Sky News

- German supermarket chain Lidl has been given approval by a High Court to open its first ever pub in Northern Ireland.

($1 = 0.8031 pounds)

(Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom)

((globalnewsmonitoring@thomsonreuters.com))