Tuesday newspaper round-up: Digital pound, bus services, Royal Mail

Consumers could be using a new digital pound as an alternative to cash by the end of the decade under plans being drawn up by the Bank of England and the Treasury. The government is speeding up its response to the rise of privately issued cryptocurrencies and stable coins with a four-month public consultation process on a “Britcoin” starting on Tuesday. – Guardian

Hundreds more of England’s dwindling bus services could be axed next week with a funding shortfall looming, transport authorities have warned. Labour said the government had “just 10 days to act” before operators start having to cut routes because of the expiry of post-pandemic state support. – Guardian

Strike-breaking rail managers were paid £50 an hour on top of their salaries to work on the front line during walkouts over Christmas, leaked documents show. Salaried workers could get as much as £6,500 in extra pay if they swapped the office for shifts on trains on strike days between Dec 19 and Jan 3. – Telegraph

Union leaders have been forced to call off a two-day postal strike following a legal challenge by Royal Mail bosses. The Communication Workers Union (CWU) blamed laws that are “heavily weighted against working people” for scrapping planned walkouts on Feb 16 and Feb 17. – Telegraph

The battle between Santander and the financier who was once in line to run the Spanish bank is set to continue after a Spanish court cut the compensation the lender should pay for rescinding its job offer. It emerged yesterday that a court in Madrid had upheld Andrea Orcel’s claim against Santander, but had lowered the payout he should receive by €8 million to €43.4 million. Santander immediately said that it intended to appeal against the ruling in the Spanish Supreme Court. – The Times