Tuesday newspaper round-up: Ultra Electronics, hydrogen, Virgin Galactic

(Sharecast News) - The government is coming under growing criticism for taking a "weak" stance on overseas takeovers of UK businesses, amid the sale of two London-listed defence contractors to US-backed buyers worth almost £9bn. Labour and the former City minister Paul Myners said serious questions were being raised by the sale of Ultra Electronics, a defence firm that supported coalition forces in Afghanistan, and Meggitt, a Coventry-based supplier of wheels and brakes for fighter jets used by the Royal Air Force. - Guardian About 3 million households in the UK could begin using low-carbon hydrogen to heat their homes and cook rather than fossil fuel gas under government proposals to attract at least £4bn of investment to the hydrogen economy by 2030. The government has published its long-awaited plans for a UK-wide hydrogen economy, which it says could be worth £900m and create more than 9,000 high-quality jobs by the end of the decade, rising to £13bn and 100,000 new jobs by 2050. - Guardian

Sir Richard Branson risks losing his grip on Virgin Galactic as he continues to sell down his stake in the space tourism venture to fund his pandemic-hit businesses. The British billionaire's $300m (£216m) share sale disclosed on Friday leaves his Virgin Group barely above a threshold at which company rules let him appoint three of its directors. The arrangement, alongside the two seats controlled by Virgin Galactic chairman Chamath Palihapitiya, gives the pair majority control over the nine-strong board. - Telegraph

Baroness Morgan of Cotes, the former Conservative MP and minister, has been appointed to the board of Santander's UK business. The Spain-based lender said that Morgan, a member of the House of the Lords, would chair its "responsible banking committee" and would be a member of the board's audit and risk committees. - The Times

Traditional high street banks have been left behind by their online rivals for customer service standards during the pandemic, the Competition and Markets Authority has found. Monzo, First Direct and Starling Bank were the top three providers in Britain, according to a survey from the competition regulator. - The Times