Kraft Heinz has dramatically abandoned its £115bn swoop on Unilever as its billionaire owners retreated from political opposition to what would have been the biggest ever takeover of a British company.

The withdrawal came hours after it emerged that Prime Minister Theresa May had ordered officials to scrutinise the bid for the UK’s third-largest listed company, following high-level, separate talks between Number 10 and the two sides.

TheTelegraph understands they included conversations with top executives at 3G Capital, the Brazilian private equity firm behind Kraft Heinz.