LONDON, March 2 (Xinhua) -- British stocks decreased on Friday, with the benchmark FTSE 100 Index down 105.74 points or 1.47 percent at 7,069.90 points.

Mondi, an international packaging and paper group, soared 3.86 percent, the top gainer of the blue chips. Rentokil Initial and Randgold Resources rose by 3.57 percent and 3.02 percent, respectively.

Rio Tinto, the international mining group, was the worst performer in the blue chips, with its shares losing 3.76 percent. Old Mutual, an international investment and banking group, dropped 3.45 percent. GKN, an automotive and aerospace components company, dropped 3.45 percent. Enditem