Shell has denied it is in talks with BP over a possible takeover of its smaller rival.

The Wall Street Journal, citing a number of sources, reported on Wednesday evening that discussions between the two UK-based energy firms were at an early, but active, stage.

The US publication added that BP was considering the approach.

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Its story was published soon after the London Stock Exchange had closed for the day, but US-listed depository shares in BP were 10% up in New York shortly after publication, while those for Shell were down.

However, Shell responded to the story by telling Sky News: “This is further market speculation. No talks are taking place.

“As we have said many times before, we are sharply focused on capturing the value of Shell through continuing to focus on performance, discipline and simplification.”

The rally for BP shares fell back in the wake of the statement. BP declined to comment.

The company has been widely seen as a possible takeover target for years, as its market value has lagged behind the growth of industry peers.

It was valued at nearly £59bn as of Wednesday, while Shell had a market capitalisation of over £153bn.

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The gulf between them has widened since 2020, when BP, under the then-chief executive Bernard Looney, embarked on a fundamental shift towards a green energy future.

The lofty ambitions were slowly chipped away following record leaps in oil and natural gas costs in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Much of the strategy was overturned in a reset by current boss Murray Auchincloss in February this year, under pressure from shareholders.

BP’s debt pile has been seen as a potential barrier to takeover interest.

More people than ever are struggling to live on their current income – while just a third say they are living comfortably, according to new research.

Rising prices and sluggish pay increases have put many people’s finances under strain in recent years.

A record 26% now say making ends meet is difficult. Before the pandemic, it was 16%.

Two-thirds also say their incomes haven’t kept up with inflation, according to the British Social Attitudes report.

That’s only marginally better than the 70% recorded during the height of the cost of living crisis in 2023.

Frozen tax thresholds also appear to be hitting home, with 61% saying taxes on low earners are too high, while 44% believe middle income earners also pay too much.

Those figures are up nine points and 13 points respectively since 2016.

However, when it comes to the highest earners, 44% believe their taxes are too low.

The report also asked people about the welfare system – a timely insight with Labour MPs currently rebelling over plans to save £5bn from the budget.

It found support for more spending on disability benefits is at a record low of 45%, down from 67% in 2017 – but only 11% think spending should be reduced.

About 29% of those polled think it’s “too easy” for people to get disability benefits – but the same percentage also feel it’s “too difficult”.

Meanwhile, long waiting times appear to have played a part in the finding that a record 59% are now dissatisfied with the NHS. In 2019, it was just 25%.

Only 21% said they were satisfied with the health service.

The report is based on a representative, random sample of more than 4,000 people in the UK and was produced by the National Centre for Social Research.

It’s the longest-running measure of public opinion in Britain, having started in 1983.

Professor Sir John Curtice, senior research fellow, said: “The public are well aware of Britain’s problems – not least those of a failing health service and an economy in which many are struggling to make ends meet.

“Yet rather than turning their back on the state, for the most part, the public are still inclined to look to government to provide solutions.”

Defence was also a key theme of the report – and researchers found about 40% of Britons support spending more money on weapons and troops.

A fifth (20%) said they would like to see a reduction.

It comes as the government revealed it was buying at least 12 stealth jets that can carry nuclear weapons, and as NATO countries, including the UK, promise to increase defence spending.

The National Security Strategy also said the UK must prepare for the potential of a “wartime scenario” in the “UK homeland” for the first time in many years.

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Almost everyone surveyed (90%) considered Russia a serious threat to world peace, followed by Iran (78%), North Korea (77%), Israel (73%), and China (69%).

The percentage supporting more defence spending remains relatively unchanged since 2016, before Russia invaded Ukraine.

However, the share supporting an increase is significantly higher now than that in 2006 (28%) and in the 1990s (17%).

The government has not done enough to ensure all victims entitled to compensation from the Post Office scandal have applied for it, a report has found.

Many current and former postmasters affected by Horizon IT failings and associated miscarriages of justice are not yet receiving fair and timely compensation, according to the report by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC).

Only 21% of the 18,500 letters the Post Office sent to postmasters to make them aware of the Horizon Shortfall Scheme had been responded to, figures provided by the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) show. About 5,000 further letters are expected to be sent in 2025.

Under the scheme, current and former postmasters who were financially affected by the Horizon IT system, but who were either not convicted or did not take the Post Office to the High Court, can either settle their claim for a final fixed sum of £75,000 or have it fully assessed.

There is also the Horizon Convictions Redress Scheme (HCRS), which is for sub-postmasters who had their convictions quashed after the passing of the Post Office (Horizon System) Offences Act last year.

The 800 or so sub-postmasters who are eligible to claim under the HCRS are entitled to a £600,000 full and final settlement, or the option to pursue a full claim assessment.

By the end of March, 339 had accepted the settlement sum, the report by the PAC, which is made up of MPs from all sides of the House of Commons, found.

But the PAC report states that the government has no plans to follow up with people who are, or may be, eligible to claim but are yet to apply.

The committee recommends that the DBT should outline what more it will do to ensure every affected postmaster is fully aware of their options for claiming.

A third scheme provides compensation to sub-postmasters who were wrongly convicted of fraud, theft and false accounting.

Of the 111 sub-postmasters eligible to claim for the Overturned Convictions Scheme and who are either entitled to a £600,000 full and final settlement, or to pursue a full claim assessment, 25 have not yet submitted a claim, some of whom represent the most complex cases.

The DBT has taken over the management of the scheme from the Post Office, and the PAC report recommends that the department should outline how it plans to handle the remaining cases under the scheme.

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Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown MP, chair of the PAC, said thousands of people were “deeply failed” by the system during “one of the UK’s worst ever miscarriages of justice”.

He added: “This committee would have hoped to have found government laser-focused on ensuring all those eligible were fully and fairly compensated for what happened.

“It is deeply dissatisfactory to find these schemes still moving far too slowly, with no government plans to track down the majority of potential claimants who may not yet be aware of their proper entitlements.

“It is entirely unacceptable that those affected by this scandal, some of whom have had to go through the courts to clear their names, are being forced to relitigate their cases a second time.”