Marks and Spencer’s (M&S) website is back online after being taken down for several hours, the latest blow in the wake of a major cyber attack that continues to hamper its digital operations.

According to the BBC, customers were left unable to browse the site overnight on Wednesday (22 May), with a holding message reading: “Sorry you can’t browse the site currently. We’re making some updates and will be back soon.”

It is understood the site returned to browsing functionality shortly after 7 am on Thursday following overnight updates.

Yesterday, the retailer said online orders remain suspended and services will continue to be disrupted until July as it works to restore systems.

Subscribe to Grocery Gazette for free

Sign up here to get the latest grocery and food news each morning

M&S has already warned that the cyber attack, which first struck over Easter, is expected to result in a £300m profit hit this year, with personal customer data such as names, addresses and dates of birth compromised.

However, payment information and passwords were not affected, the retailer stressed. The attack has been linked to the Scattered Spider hacking group, which is also believed to have targeted Co-op and Harrods.

Despite the setback, M&S said its teams were “working hard” to bring full service back to customers in the weeks ahead.

It came amid the high street retailer delivering