Shelves are still not full in Co-op and Marks & Spencer branches across Kent due to recent cyber-attacks.

Shoppers were unable to purchase items such as crisps, mayonnaise and pet food after hackers interrupted supply chains and stole personal information from the retailer's customer database three weeks ago.

M&S chief executive, Stuart Machin, said the firm was writing to customers to inform them that some personal customer information had been taken, but that there was no evidence it had been shared.

A Co-op spokesperson said all of its stores were open and trading, but due to sustained attempts by hackers to access its systems, it had taken steps to keep systems safe, which was temporarily impacting how many deliveries it could make to its stores.

Customers at M&S in Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells accepted that cyber-attacks could happen, but were worried about their personal details being shared.

Kerry Smith, from Aylesford, told BBC Radio Kent: "I received an email from M&S telling me what personal information has been compromised.

"It does make me concerned about what it could be used for, but I think they'll get it sorted soon."

Meanwhile, Jackie Lamb, from Tunbridge Wells, said she could not believe that the problems were ongoing.

"It happened weeks ago and I cannot order anything online still. The lady in front of me in the queue was trying to settle the balance on her account but couldn't due to the outage.

"They must be losing lots of money."

At the Co-op in East Peckham village centre, the shelves were depleted.

June James, who has lived in East Peckham all her life, said the stock levels were improving.

"However, my daughter had to drive me to the nearest big supermarket as there were lots of things on my shopping list that I couldn't get. I hope it returns to normal soon," she said.

The National Cyber Security Centre warned that criminals launching cyber-attacks on British retailers were impersonating IT help desks to break into organisations.

Lisa Barber, tech editor at consumer group Which?, said it was concerning that criminals had gained access to information that could be used for identity fraud.

"It's always a good idea to change your password as soon as possible if there's been a security breach, and to ensure your new password is unique from any other online accounts," she said.

Matt Hull, head of threat intelligence at cyber security company NCC Group, said attackers who had stolen personal information could use it to "craft very convincing scams".

Next week the Chancellor Rachel Reeves will reveal the outcome of her Spending Review.

It will allocate money to day-to-day public services for the next three years.

It will also set infrastructure budgets for the next four years.

The review will directly impact on what Stormont Ministers have to spend on public services in Northern Ireland.

What do we already know?

Last year Reeves set what is known as the "spending envelope" – the amount by which total government spending will change in a given period.

Day-to-day spending is planned to grow by an average of 1.2% above the rate of inflation each year for the next three years.

Infrastructure spending is planned to grow by 1.3% above inflation a year over the next four years.

These are much lower growth rates than this year and last year, reflecting the new government's "emergency" injection of cash into the health service and public sector pay deals.

On Wednesday the Chancellor will break it down further, making allocations to each central government department.

The precise allocation of this money matters for Stormont's spending plans.

Health vs Defence: Why it matters?

More than 90% of what Stormont ministers have to spend comes from the Treasury through what is known as "the block grant."

The increase in the block grant is worked out using a calculation known as the Barnett formula, which is based on the annual changes in UK central government departmental budgets.

It gives Stormont an equivalent spending increase for the size of the NI population, adjusted for the extent to which each service is devolved.

Some services, like health, are almost entirely devolved but defence is not devolved.

If the government decides it is going to spend more on defence at the expense of other services that will have an impact on the amount of extra money in the Stormont pot.

In simple terms: If the UK Department of Health sees its budget increase by £100m, then Northern Ireland would get approximately £3m extra.

If the Ministry of Defence budget increases by £100m Stormont does not get anything extra.

A bigger Stormont top-up?

When devolution was restored in 2024 the government agreed a financial package which included an automatic top-up of any money awarded by the Barnett formula.

The government was persuaded that the level of need in Northern Ireland means it requires spending of £124 per head for every £100 per head spent in England.

As Northern Ireland was funded below that level, the government said that in future every £1 that comes through the Barnett formula will now come with an extra 24p.

That will apply until the overall level of funding need is reached.

The independent Fiscal Council has estimated that will be worth £815m over five years.

The government said the size of the top up could be reviewed if "independent and credible sources" provide evidence.

To that end the Executive commissioned a study from the economist Prof Gerry Holtham, an expert in the devolution of public finances.

The BBC understands that his work has come back with a range of possible funding need.

The central estimates are £123 per head, for every £100 spent in England, if agricultural spending is excluded and £128 per head if agriculture forms part of the calculation.

If the Treasury is persuaded to accept the higher end of the range it will be worth tens of millions of pounds extra over the next five years.

Softening the cliff edge?

The devolution financial package also brought a large dollop of one-off UK government funding, largely to pay for public sector pay deals.

However that creates a cliff-edge drop in Stormont funding of about £500m in 2026/27 when that short term money runs out.

The government committed to review "concerns about 2026-27 funding" at the Spending Review.

The Fiscal Council has suggested options to tackle the cliff edge could include more one-off funding or setting a new, higher baseline for Stormont's budget.

However, it is also possible that the normal operation of Spending Review will allocate enough money to largely remove the cliff edge.

Casement Park breakthrough?

The Chancellor will be allocating trillions of pounds in the Spending Review but it is a tiny fraction of that which may have most political impact in Northern Ireland.

There is a growing expectation that the UK government will come up with additional money for the construction of a new GAA stadium at Casement Park in Belfast.

That project has been bogged down in labyrinthine planning and funding issues.

The GAA official leading the project has told the BBC he is cautiously optimistic that the Spending Review will include a new financial contribution for the redevelopment project.

A man who beat a woman to death in her own home in Moray has been jailed for a minimum of 24 years.

Mother-of-two Lucretia Donaghy, 32, who was known as Keshia, was found dead at her home in Anderson Drive, Elgin, in November 2023.

Owen Grant, 43, had denied assaulting and murdered her by repeatedly striking her on the head and body.

However a jury at the High Court in Edinburgh found him guilty of murder, where Lord Scott jailed him for life.

The judge, who described the attack as involving a claw-hammer or similar implement, said: "The attack was exceptionally savage, frenzied and brutal."

He said that in a victim impact statement Keshia's mother said her heart was broken.

Keshia died after sustaining multiple blunt force head injuries and was found lying face down in a bedroom.

A neighbour had heard sounds of an argument coming from the downstairs flat and the victim calling out: "No, no, no."

After the murder, Grant turned up drunk at a woman's address and gave her money to source cocaine. She returned to the house and told him she had learned that Keshia was dead.

Grant cried but went on to claim the information was wrong and that police activity at her home was a drugs raid.