Wednesday newspaper round-up: Telecoms, Greggs, Tony Danker

A trio of telecoms firms have been accused of overcharging hundreds of thousands of landline-only customers by almost £200m, according to research. Economists at Fideres argue that almost 600,000 UK landline-only customers have been charged “excessive” prices since 2009. - Guardian

The bakery chain Greggs is to appeal against a ban preventing a central London outlet from selling hot food through the night after police claimed it could lead to a spike in crime and disorder. The company was last summer refused an overnight licence to open its store in Leicester Square between between 11pm and 5am amid claims it could become a “hotspot for late-night disturbances and antisocial behaviour”. – Guardian

The former head of the CBI has said he has been made the “fall guy” for a wider crisis within Britain’s biggest business lobbying group, amid allegations of drug use and rape. Tony Danker said his reputation has been “totally destroyed” by the misconduct claims, which were unrelated to his dismissal but came to light around the same time. – Telegraph

The leading shareholder in HSBC has accused the bank’s bosses of being “closed-minded” about a break-up as Ping An detailed for the first time its plan to spin off the lender’s Asian division. The Chinese insurer, which owns an 8 per cent stake, claimed that the FTSE 100 bank had “refused to verbally engage in discussions” on its proposals and had “exaggerated many of the costs and risks”. It had been “extremely disappointed” by the “consistent closed-minded attitude” displayed by executives at the British group. – The Times

Lawyers for Jes Staley have been given the chance to question the former Barclays chief executive’s ex-boss at JP Morgan over allegations surrounding the crimes of Jeffrey Epstein. Jamie Dimon, JP Morgan’s veteran chairman and chief executive, has been ordered by a federal judge to set aside two days for questioning under oath as America’s largest bank grapples with legal action over its former ties with Epstein, the paedophile. – The Times