Sunday newspaper round-up: US-China, Brexit, Royal Mail, Barclays, Shire

Britain would be trapped “indefinitely” in a customs union with Brussels if MPs back Theresa May’s Brexit deal, according to leaked details of the attorney-general’s legal advice, which the government has suppressed. Senior ministers say the prime minister is refusing to publish the advice because it contains a stark passage that makes clear the UK could end up locked in a “backstop” arrangement with the European Union. -

The Democratic Unionist Party will join Labour and other opposition parties on Monday in a bid to force the Government to publish its legal advice on Brexit – a move that could delay the crucial vote on Theresa May’s plan. - Sunday Telegraph

Labour would almost certainly seek a vote of no confidence in Theresa May’s government if she lost the key Commons vote on her Brexit deal in nine days’ time, Keir Starmer has said. Keeping up the intense pressure on the prime minister in the run-up to the vote on 11 December, the shadow Brexit secretary also confirmed that Labour would begin contempt of parliament proceedings against ministers if they failed to publish the government’s full legal advice on the implications of May’s deal. - Observer

Channel 4 is plotting a rival Brexit TV debate featuring Tony Blair and Boris Johnson as negotiations over the showdown between Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn descend into acrimony. The prime minister has done a deal with the BBC to take on Corbyn in a debate next Sunday ...but Labour has rejected that approach and agreed with ITV a programme where the two would quiz each other and face questions from moderator Julie Etchingham. - Sunday Times

Two of Labour’s biggest beasts demanded last week that the party move swiftly to back a new referendum on Brexit if it cannot force a general election. Tom Watson, the deputy leader, and Sir Keir Starmer, the party’s Brexit spokesman, used a shadow cabinet meeting to call on Jeremy Corbyn to set up a process that would let the party change tack on Brexit. - Sunday Times

ROYAL MAIL, TED BAKER, SHIRE

The communications watchdog has warned that Royal Mail’s financial travails could threaten the sustainability of the universal postal service as new boss Rico Back struggles to get the privatised delivery firm back on track. Ofcom, which monitors Royal Mail’s ability to meet its legal obligation to ­deliver letters and parcels to the whole country six days a week for a fixed fee, has sounded the alarm after the ­company issued a profit warning in ­October, knocking more than £1bn off its stock market value. - Sunday Telegraph

Staff at Ted Baker have alleged that there is a culture of harassment at the fashion retailer as they demanded that their boss stops hugging them. Ray Kelvin, 62, the founder and chief executive of the high street chain, has been accused of “forced hugging”, making “sexual innuendos at staff” and “stroking people’s necks” in a petition launched by employees. - Sunday Times

Powerful American hedge funds have placed £1 billion of last-minute bets on FTSE 100 drugs firm Shire being bought by a Japanese rival for £46 billion this week. The takeover, which would be the second largest ever for a British company, is on a knife-edge after shareholders of potential buyer Takeda expressed doubts about the debt-fuelled deal. - Mail on Sunday

Spanish transportation titan Ferrovial is looking to jettison its UK road contracting arm after a high profile £2.7bn contract designed to prepare Birmingham to host the 2022 Commonwealth Games decimated profits. Goldman Sachs has been appointed to explore the sale of “part or all” of Ferrovial’s global services business, which is dominated by British contractor Amey, a top government supplier. - Sunday Telegraph

Hedge funds have shorted more than £100m worth of shares in government contractors over the last three months, as they hope to cash in on turmoil in the sector in the wake of Carillion’s collapse earlier this year. The likes of Marshall Wace, GLG Partners, Polar Capital and Brightsphere have been taking big bets against the industry, and are now shorting around £380m worth of shares in outsourced services and construction companies. - Sunday Telegraph

Shareholders in Faroe Petroleum have accused a Norwegian rival of trying to buy the North Sea oil explorer on the cheap. Oslo-listed DNO took advantage of the recent slide in the oil price to swoop last Monday with a hostile offer of 152p a share, valuing Faroe at about £607.9m — 20.8% higher than its closing price the Friday before. - Sunday Times

The largest shareholder of Scottish television network STV has slapped a £200 million price tag on the company amid rumours of a takeover. Richard Bernstein, boss of Crystal Amber, which has a 19 per cent stake in STV, said it is inevitable that broadcast giant ITV will try to buy the firm. - Mail on Sunday

TSB, PLASTIC TAX, MARTIN SORRELL, HOUSING

Under-pressure TSB has rowed back on plans to cut its high street bank branches following an IT meltdown that left it on its knees. Chairman Richard Meddings told The Telegraph that plans to cut some of the bank’s 550 branches have now been revised as the physical stores “made a real difference” to customers during its IT crisis, the UK banking sector’s worst crash in recent memory. - Sunday Telegraph

Sandwiches are to be targeted by a new packaging tax in a war on waste to be launched as early as this week. The scheme, predicted to add up to 15p to the cost of a pack, is aimed at making food producers, retailers and home delivery services such as Amazon pay the full cost of dealing with packaging. - Sunday Times

Sir Martin Sorrell, the former boss of advertising giant WPP, is poised to wrap up a second takeover at his new venture this week. Sorrell, 73, who dramatically quit WPP following a board investigation into his conduct, is now running S4 Capital, a vehicle he set up to acquire marketing and advertising businesses. - Mail on Sunday

Developers will be forced to demonstrate to planners that they are improving wildlife habitats whenever they build new homes, Michael Gove will say on Sunday. Under plans that will go out for consultation next week, builders will be required to deliver a ‘biodiversity net gain’ when building new housing or commercial development. - Sunday Telegraph

Pensioners in large homes should be let off stamp duty fees to encourage them to move to smaller properties, a leading thinktank will recommend on Monday. The study to be published by the Policy Exchange also suggests purpose built homes for “ageing baby boomers” would encourage more people to move and “free up more family homes for younger generations“. - Sunday Telegraph

Corporate Christmas cards are under threat because new EU data protection rules mean that companies need permission to send seasonal greetings via email. The festive cards which are sent out to clients could fall victim to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) which came into force this year. - Sunday Telegraph

First he revolutionised the film rental and property markets. Now the co-founder of Lovefilm and Zoopla has turned his attention to second-hand cars. Alex Chesterman, 48, has raised more than £30m from backers including the publisher of the Daily Mail for his new venture, Cazoo. - Sunday Times

The disgraced former boss of tech firm Telit is under investigation by the City watchdog. Oozi Cats, who was ousted last year after it emerged he was wanted by American law enforcers, is understood to be at the centre of a Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) investigation for failing to disclose his criminal indictment — including when Telit floated on AIM in 2005. - Sunday Times

PENSIONS, NHS, IMMIGRATION

A devastating year for UK bank shares is set to send Barclays tumbling out of a top European index. Since January, Brexit fears have wiped around £50 billion off the value of the 'big four' British banks – Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds and RBS. - Mail on Sunday

One of Britain’s biggest water companies has been forced to double payments to its deficit-laden pension fund and share future dividends with the scheme, amid growing scrutiny of the industry. Southern Water, which supplies 4.6m customers in Kent, Sussex, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, has agreed to pay £50m more into its fund in an accelerated process after being threatened by the Pensions Regulator with an enforcement action. - Sunday Times

Three bosses of FTSE 100 firms have presided over huge cuts to staff pensions – while ensuring that their own have remained at high levels. Diageo boss Ivan Menezes, Lloyds Bank’s Antonio Horta-Osorio and RSA Insurance chief Stephen Hester have all left their own pension at 30 per cent or more of their pay while they have cut contributions for other staff to as little as 6 per cent. - Mail on Sunday

The cost of bringing in skilled workers from outside the EU is set to surge as the government doubles a controversial charge on migrants who use the NHS. The levy, which the government applies to all working visas to ensure new arrivals make a “fair contribution”, goes up to £400 a year this month, raising an extra £220m for the health service. - Sunday Times

Up to 3m patients are expected to lose their GP surgery within a year because of a shortage of doctors. More than 350 practices face closure in England alone over the next 12 months, according to a survey of doctors for the Royal College of General Practitioners. - Sunday Times

A new immigration system that places severe limits on low-skilled immigration risks inflicting “massive damage” to livelihoods and communities, one of Britain’s most senior business figures has warned. Carolyn Fairbairn, head of the Confederation of British Industry, issued her sternest warning to date about the new “global system” being drawn up by the government, which is expected to place major restrictions on visas for low-skilled workers. - Observer

Council leaders from some of Britain’s biggest cities are demanding an emergency cash injection to stop a “catastrophic collapse” of authorities that have faced the biggest cuts to their support. Bosses from Manchester, Newcastle and Birmingham are among almost 80 Labour council leaders to write to James Brokenshire, the communities secretary, demanding that a forthcoming cut in funding of £1.3bn is cancelled “at an absolute minimum”. - Observer

AMAZON, TECH IPOS, TOP GEAR

Electronic cigarette products that resemble children’s treats and can contain potentially dangerous chemicals banned under tobacco regulations are being sold on Amazon, an investigation reveals. “Shake and vape” fluids that mimic fizzy drinks and sweet snacks — including Fanta and Krispy Kreme doughnuts — are designed to be mixed with a £1 shot of nicotine and vaporised in an e-cigarette. - Sunday Times

Struggling cycling brand Rapha has veered sharply into the red, notching up a £20m pre-tax loss just six months since being bought by heirs to the Walmart dynasty. The upmarket clothing company was bought by RZC Investments, a private-equity firm run by Steuart and Tom Walton, in August 2017. - Sunday Telegraph

A pioneering technology start-up backed by star fund manager Neil Woodford has raised £35 million as it eyes a stock market float. Ultrahaptics, which was spun out of Bristol University by listed company IP Group, is valued at £200 million following the funding round, according to City sources. - Mail on Sunday

Sales at the Manchester cloud computing business UKFast have risen by 13% to more than £50m as it gears up for a public listing. The company, founded by tech multimillionaire Lawrence Jones and his wife Gail, provides internet hosting services and is due to report underlying earnings of £25m this year, up 19%. - Sunday Times

The struggling social network founded by Jeremy Clarkson and other former Top Gear presenters is expanding into insurance and repair services after racking £12.5m of losses in its first two years. DriveTribe plans to alert members who have a service or insurance ­renewal due, and direct them to companies who can provide this service. - Sunday Telegraph