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Co-op says cyber-attack cost it £206m in lost sales

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The Co-op has said the cyber-attack it suffered earlier this year cost it at least £206m in lost revenues.

The retailer’s IT networks were infiltrated by hackers in April, resulted in payment problems, widespread shortages of goods in shops, and the loss of customer data.

Co-op chair Debbie White said the “malicious” attack had caused “significant challenges” in the first half of 2025.

Overall, the retailer reported a £75m underlying pre-tax loss in the six months to 5 July, compared to a £3m profit in the same period a year earlier.

It also said profits were hit by increased staffing costs and regulations, as well as the cyber-attack.

The full cost of the attack could be much higher as the Co-op said it was also expecting there to be some impact to its business in the second half of the year.

Ms White said the group must now rebuild “better and stronger to meet the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead”.

Co-op reported its total group revenue – the amount of money a company makes from all its business activities – was £5.48bn.

That’s a decrease from the £5.6bn it reported as total group revenue for the same period in 2024.

April’s cyber-attack resulted in empty store shelves and issues with digital payments. The disruption was particularly felt in some rural areas where the local Co-op is the only large supermarket.

After initially downplaying the attack, the Co-op later admitted all 6.5 million of its member customers had their data stolen.

The business’s funeral homes also had to resort to paper-based systems.

Co-op chief executive Shirine Khoury-Haq said she was proud of how the business had responded to the attack and that it highlighted many “strengths”.

“It also highlighted areas we need to focus on – particularly in our Food business,” she said.

The attack on the Co-op came amid a challenging period for the group, as it faces rising costs and and pressure on consumer confidence from the rising cost of living.

Last year, the company reported improved profits but warned in April it would face more than £200m in costs and spending pressures in 2025, including £80m from the impact of shoplifting.

Marks & Spencer and Harrods were both hit by cyber-attacks around the same time, but the Co-op was able to resume normal trading at a faster pace as it discovered the attack earlier.

Marks & Spencer, which stopped all online sales for six weeks following its hack, said it faced a £300m financial hit.

Speaking exclusively to the BBC, hackers who claimed to be responsible for the Co-op cyber-attack said they breached the company’s computer systems long before they were discovered.

But the attackers also said that the Co-op disconnected the internet from IT networks in the nick of time to stop the hackers from deploying ransomware and causing even more disruption.

At the end of August, carmaker Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) also suffered a cyber-attack and the company was forced to shut down its IT networks.

Production at its factories in the UK was also shutdown as a result, and will remain suspended until October at the earliest affecting suppliers as well as factory workers.

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Café Sol pesto pasta and chicken recalled over listeria

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54 minutes ago

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25 September 2025

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The Food Safety Authority has recalled a batch of Café Sol pesto pasta and chicken over the presence of listeria.

The impacted product has a use by date of 25 September 2025 and weighs 224g.

The FSAI said notices will be displayed at point-of-sale and urged those who purchased the product not to eat the affected batch.

Retailers have been requested to remove the pasta dishes from their shelves.

Distributors have been asked to contact their impacted customers, recall the affected batch and also provide a notices in their premises.

Symptoms of listeria monocytogenes infection can include mild flu-like symptoms, or gastrointestinal symptoms such as nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea.

In rare cases, the infection can be more severe, causing serious complications.

Pregnant women, babie, and people with weakened immune systems, including the elderly, are more vulnerable to such infections.

The time between initial infection and first symptoms appearing is on average three weeks but can range between three days and 70 days.

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Swinney apologises to injured footballer over ambulance wait

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2 hours ago

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25 September 2025

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28 minutes ago

imageCharlene Paterson

First Minister John Swinney has apologised to a young footballer who had to wait five hours for an ambulance after breaking her leg.

Brooke Paterson, 19, was injured while playing for Linlithgow Rose away at Cumbernauld United in North Lanarkshire on Sunday.

The central midfielder from Bo’ness, near Falkirk, has since undergone surgery in Forth Valley Hospital.

Speaking in parliament, Swinney apologised to Ms Paterson and expressed his “regret” at the situation.

The Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) has also apologised for any distress caused by the delay in getting to the match, which it said was due to high demand and hospital turnaround times.

After the case was raised by Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar at First Minister’s Questions, Swinney said that it appeared the ambulance call had been misclassified, meaning it did not have “the priority it should have had”.

“That is not acceptable,” he said.

“That is an error that has been made and we have to look into whether that is the case and whether there are other steps that need to be taken to remedy that.”

Sarwar accused Swinney of having “broken the system” and said families across the country were suffering as a result of waits for accident and emergency treatment.

imageCharlene Paterson A girl with long brown hair smiles at the camera. She stands in front of a wire fence with grass behind it and she appears to be wearing a football stripCharlene Paterson

Ms Paterson said she ran to get the ball at the same time as a United player during the Lowland League match.

“She went for a slide tackle and I got the bad end of it,” she told BBC Scotland’s Drivetime programme.

“It just snapped straight away. I heard the snap and knew something bad happened.

“I just remember being in total agony and screaming and crying. I couldn’t focus – people were trying to talk to me and I couldn’t hear anybody. I was in a lot of pain.”

Teammates and onlookers at Guy’s Meadow Stadium rushed to her aid and several phoned for an ambulance after realising the seriousness of her injury.

“The ambulance said that it wasn’t a 999 emergency and I had to wait,” she said.

“The hours kept adding on and adding on, and I was getting more and more upset and frustrated. I was cold as well because I was lying on the ground.”

People covered her in jackets to keep her warm and comfortable as it got dark.

“I was more annoyed at the fact that they let me lie there on the wet grass, completely freezing with a bad injury,” she added.

“They took their time to come and get me. I just couldn’t believe they could do that to anyone.”

imageCharlene Paterson Two people kneel around a woman covered in a pile of jackets lying on the grass of a football pitch. It appears to be the eveningCharlene Paterson

When asked if the apology from the SAS was enough, she said: “I don’t know.

“I don’t know that they won’t do that to someone else and it’s obviously happened before. An apology isn’t enough to fix these problems.”

It is not known when Brooke will leave the hospital, as she is still struggling with the pain as well as putting weight on the injured leg.

“I’m just really, really sore and tired all the time,” she said.

The footballer said she had suffered bad injuries before, adding: “I know I can come back from something like this, but I know it’s going to take a while.

“I just need to remember why I play football in the first place and that will keep me going. It’ll get hard at points but I can’t give up. I’ve came too far to give up on football now.

“When I’m playing football, all my worries go out the door. I don’t have any problems when I’m playing football. It’s always brought me joy no matter what.”

Ambulance apology

A SAS spokesperson said: “We would like to sincerely apologise to Ms Paterson for the delay in the ambulance response and for any distress caused.

“We can confirm that we received a number of calls on 21 September to attend this incident but due to high demand and hospital turnaround times which ranged between 90 minutes to three hours in the area, this significantly delayed our response and we unfortunately could not attend immediately.

“When a time is appropriate, we would ask Ms Paterson or her family to contact our patient experience team directly so we can look into this case further and personally discuss our response. We hope Ms Paterson is recovering well.”

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TB cases in Ireland expected to hit 300 this year

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2 hours ago

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25 September 2025

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The number of tuberculosis (TB) cases in Ireland is expected to hit 300 this year, the highest number since 2018.

Prof Anne Marie McLaughlin from St James’s National TB Centre said the incidence has increased by nearly 30% in the past two years – much of which was due to the increase in homelessness.

“Approximately 60% of our patients are foreign-born, who are living in IPAS centres or experiencing homelessness,” she said.

She explained that 30% of patients are Irish-born who are often immuno-suppressed due to issues such as cancer medications.

Prof McLaughlin said prisons are another area of concern, particularly given Ireland experienced “one of the biggest outbreaks in the world” of TB between 2009 and 2010.

“We can cure TB, and that the really good news story. It is 100% curable.”

However, Prof McLaughlin said additional Government funding was required to introduce a new app which enables her medical team to ensure that patients are taking the medicines they have been prescribed.

“The cost of that is €11,000 per annum for a licence, which is nothing by comparison to the cost of what we previously used – which was public health nurses visiting patients or getting patients to visit them. That cost around €350,000 per annum,” she added.

Close up image of Anne Marie McLaughlin, a woman with brown hair and brown eyes, against a white backdrop
Prof McLaughlin said TB is “100% curable”

Prof McLaughlin is also seeking funding for a drop-in clinic for patients, given that it is “very hard” for patients who are homeless to abide by scheduled medical appointments.

“If they develop a problem in-between, we’re the only experts who can deal with it. They can’t just go to their local GP because this is really niche stuff,” she said.

Prof McLaughlin was speaking on World Lung Day at an event organised by the Irish Lung Fibrosis Association and fellow organisations,

Lung fibrosis is a life-limiting very serious and progressive condition affecting 5,000 people across Ireland.

Maureen O’Donnell of the ILFA said today’s event in Dublin was to try and raise awareness of the condition.

She said her association is campaigning for “equitable care” so that no matter where patients live in Ireland, they are able to obtain the care they need.

“75% of our patients are not offered pulmonary rehabilitation, which is critical for them to be able to live a longer life,” she said.

If not, she warned, it will take time off their lives.

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