Co-op boss Shirine Khoury-Haq has apologised to the 6.5 million members that had their data stolen in a cyber-attack in April.

The convenience store chain was forced to shut down parts of its IT systems when it first reported it had been hacked and revealed days later that some of its customer and employee data had been taken.

“I’m devastated that information was taken. I’m also devastated by the impact that it took on our colleagues as well as they tried to contain all of this,” Khoury-Haq told BBC Breakfast.

“There was no financial data, no transaction data but it was names and addresses and contact information that was lost,” she said.

“Early on I met with our IT staff and they were in the midst of it. I will never forget the looks on their faces, trying to fight off these criminals,” Khoury-Haq added.

After the hackers had been removed from Co-op’s IT systems, “they could not erase what they did so we could monitor every mouse click” and the business was able to pass the information on to the authorities.

Her comments come as Co-op announced its new partnership with social impact business The Hacking Games to identify and redirect young cyber talent.

The retailer said the tie-up will combine it’s reach into every postcode area of the UK, community expertise, 38 Co-op Academy schools and their 6.5 million member base with The Hacking Games’ extensive knowledge and expertise in cybercrime.

Last week, the National Crime Agency (NCA) reported that three teenage boys and a 20-year-old woman had been arrested in connection to a series of cyberattacks on major UK retailers including M&S, Co-op and Harrods.

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