Wednesday newspaper round-up: Maplin, Toys R Us, Carillion, shop prices

More than 5,500 retail jobs are at risk as two of the high street’s best known names teeter on the edge of collapse. Toys R Us, with more than 3,000 staff, is set to go into administration in the next 24 hours, and 11th-hour rescue talks designed to shore up Maplin are also said to have broken down, meaning that the 200-store electronics chain also faces imminent bankruptcy. – Guardian

Top executives at Carillion were “fantasists” who assumed the company would receive fees that might not be paid, according to MPs. In the latest in a series of critical statements, a joint parliamentary select committee investigating the collapse of the construction firm also accused Carillion’s former leadership of making a “litany of excuses” for the demise of the construction group. – Guardian

The Government must share the blame for the bungling of a multi-billion pound nuclear clean-up contract after failing to protect taxpayers from spiraling costs, MPs have said. In a damning report the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) accused the Government of being “culpable” in the collapse of a contract to clean up Britain’s redundant fleet of Magnox nuclear reactors. – Telegraph

The owner of the microchip designer Arm has backed an apparent bid to create a new mobile network in the UK as operators prepare to connect millions more devices. SoftBank, the Japanese mobile giant that swooped for Arm in a £24bn takeover in 2016, has backed a venture that has registered to bid in Ofcom’s forthcoming auction of airwaves suitable for new 5G networks. – Telegraph

The Qatari company accused of withholding payment to Carillion has hit back at suggestions that it contributed to the group’s collapse, claiming that it was itself owed £200 million. MPs said that a “litany of excuses” for the failure of Carillion was “fast unravelling” after Msheireb Properties wrote to the work and pensions committee accusing Carillion of mis-stating the value of work it had completed in the centre of Doha. – The Times

Shop prices have sunk deeper into deflation, suggesting that the worst of the squeeze on incomes from sterling’s devaluation since the Brexit vote may be over. Prices fell by 0.8 per cent in February compared with last year, driven by another sharp fall in non-food prices, the British Retail Consortium said. It extends the run of falling shop prices to 58 months. – The Times