Morrisons: No employee will be financially disadvantaged

The supermarket said in a statement: "On Thursday March 13 Morrisons was made aware that data from its staff payroll system had been stolen, published on the internet and sent on a disc to a newspaper.

"This data theft included bank account details. Morrisons immediately ensured it was taken off the website.

"Initial investigations suggest that this theft was not the result of an external penetration of our systems. We can confirm there has been no loss of customer data and no colleague will be left financially disadvantaged.

"We have already informed our colleagues about the theft and we are helping them take the appropriate actions to safeguard their personal data."

Morrisons said it was urgently reviewing internal data security measures.

It was working with cybercrime authorities and police to identify the source of the theft and experts had been brought in to ensure staff did not suffer financial losses.

The supermarket has also informed UK banks of the data theft and is working them to help them maintain account security, and it is setting up a helpline for employees.