PRESS DIGEST-British Business - March 9

March 9 (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

- Senior legal figures and dozens of Labour MPs are rebelling against David Lammy's "unworkable" plan to halve jury trials from 15,000 to 7,500 cases annually, in a controversial bid to clear a backlog of 80,000 pending cases.

- Labour backbenchers and opposition leaders are urging British PM Keir Starmer to cancel King Charles III's scheduled April state visit to Washington, citing U.S. President Donald Trump's "disrespectful" attitude toward the UK.

The Guardian

- Despite government assurances of a "diverse supply mix," Great Britain's gas reserves have plummeted to under two days of storage as the Iran war diverts LNG tankers to Asia and pushes UK prices up to 137p a therm.

- The Alba party is winding up and will not contest the 2026 Scottish elections, following a financial crisis and police investigation into "irregularities" that left its liabilities far exceeding its assets.

The Telegraph

- Sir Keir Starmer has spoken to Donald Trump for the first time since the U.S. president criticised him for not supporting strikes on Iran.

- The Royal Navy may have to rely on a French escort for the HMS Prince of Wales as it prepares for Middle East deployment, as a lack of available British warships has left only one destroyer and two frigates ready for action.

Sky News

- The British government has condemned Elon Musk's Grok AI as "irresponsible" after the chatbot generated hate-filled posts, potentially triggering fines of up to 18 million pounds or 10% of X's global revenue under the Online Safety Act.