Some M&S shops hit by availability issues as cyber attack fallout continues

Some Marks & Spencer stores have been left with empty shelves as the high street chain continues to be disrupted by the fallout of a cyber attack.

The retailer said it has “pockets of limited availability” in some of its shops and said it is “working hard” to get availability back to normal.

A spokeswoman for M&S said: “As part of our proactive management of the incident, we took a decision to take some of our systems temporarily offline.

“As a result, we currently have pockets of limited availability in some stores.

“We are working hard to get availability back to normal across the estate.”

It is understood that some packaged food deliveries from M&S to online grocery partner Ocado have also been affected by the cyber incident.

M&S has been seeking to grapple with the impact of a major “cyber incident” for more than a week.

The incident first caused problems for the retailer’s contactless payments and click and collect orders.

Last Friday, it paused orders through its website and app, which have remained down as it tries to resolve the problem.

A hacking group operating under the name Scattered Spider has been linked to the attack, according to reports.

Technology industry title Bleeping Computer first linked the hacking group to a potential ransomware attack against the retailer.

On Monday, M&S told agency staff at a key logistics site to stay at home due to the continued disruption.

It confirmed that agency staff at its Castle Donington clothing and homewares logistics centre in the East Midlands were told not to come in.