JLR to resume some manufacturing in coming days after cyber-attack

In a note to JLR staff on Monday, the company said the "foundational work of our recovery programme is firmly underway", and the phased restart was to ensure IT systems were brought back in a "safe and secure manner".

Previously, the company had said it did not expect production to resume at its facilities until 1 October at the earliest.

The spokesperson said JLR was continuing work on its recovery following the shutdown.

"We continue to work around the clock alongside cybersecurity specialists, the UK government's National Cyber Security Centre and law enforcement to ensure our restart is done in a safe and secure manner," they said.

The JLR spokesperson said the company thanked everyone connected to the manufacturer "for their continued patience, understanding and support."

The spokesperson continued: "We know there is much more to do but the foundational work of our recovery is firmly underway, and we will continue to provide updates as we progress."

Downing Street welcomed JLR's announcement, adding it had been "a concerning time for workers at Jaguar Land Rover and, of course, across the supply chain".

JLR is one of several UK companies that have been hit in a spate of cyber-attacks this year.

Luxury department store Harrods was contacted by hackers this week after data related to 430,000 customer records was stolen in an IT breach.

That breach was separate to attempts to hack into separate Harrods systems earlier this year.

The group of Hackers that claimed responsibility for that attempt has also claimed responsibility for hacks on retailers M&S and Co-op, which have cost the companies hundreds of millions of pounds in lost sales.