PRESS DIGEST-British Business - March 20

March 20 (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

- Drugmaker Pfizer PFE.N has sold its entire stake in Haleon HLN.L for about 2.5 billion pounds ($3.25 billion) to institutional investors and the consumer healthcare firm at 385 pence per share.

- Mining major Rio Tinto RIO.AX backed its dual-listed structure and asked shareholders to vote against London-based hedge fund Palliser Capital's resolution to review the firm's two listings in London and Sydney.

The Guardian

- Ben & Jerry's accused its parent company, Unilever ULVR.L, of deciding to oust the ice cream maker's chief executive Dave Stever because he let it speak out on social policy issues, escalating a battle over the subsidiary's independence.

- Google GOOGL.O was hit with two charges of breaching landmark EU rules on Wednesday, while Apple AAPL.O was ordered to help rivals connect with its iPhones and iPads, as Europe's antitrust regulators continued a crackdown against Big Tech.

The Telegraph

- British arms companies will be excluded from a 150 billion euro ($163.37 billion) EU fund to boost European defence unless the Government signs a security pact with Brussels.

- British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is facing a mass resignation of Labour councillors over his decision to cut benefits payments.

Sky News

- The UK arm of Spain's Banco Santander SAN.MC, SANS_pa.L said around 750 staff could lose their jobs under plans to close a fifth of its branch network, raising fresh questions about the scale of the lender's UK presence.

- Fast food chain Burger King UK is initiating discussions with lenders, seeking an additional 40 million pound ($51.96 million) borrowing capacity to finance the implementation of its business plan.

($1 = 0.7698 pounds)

($1 = 0.9182 euros)