Key Points
- Planning departments at two central London councils, including the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, faced disruptions from a cyber-attack in November 2025.
- The attack was confirmed as carried out with criminal intent, involving the copying and removal of data, including potentially sensitive personal information belonging to residents.
- Westminster City Council and Hammersmith Council were also hit by related cyber incidents around the same time.
- The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea does not expect systems to be fully operational until summer 2026.
- The UK Government announced a £210 million Government Cyber Action Plan in early January 2026 to enhance public sector cyber resilience in response to such threats.
London (West London News) January 12, 2026 – Planning departments at two central London councils have been severely disrupted by a cyber-attack that struck in November 2025, with systems not expected to return to full operation until summer.
The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea confirmed the incident involved criminal intent, as attackers copied and removed data, prompting warnings to residents over potential exposure of sensitive personal information. According to reporting by Property Week and other outlets, the breach affected planning services critical to property development and local approvals. Westminster City Council and fulham/hammersmith/">hammersmith-and-fulham/">Hammersmith and Fulham Council reported similar disruptions, highlighting vulnerabilities in shared public sector IT infrastructure.
What caused the disruption to planning departments?
The cyber-attack targeted planning systems at the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and at least one other central London council, halting operations and delaying applications for property developments across the area. South London News reported that the affected council does not anticipate full system restoration until the summer of 2026, underscoring the scale of the recovery effort.
As detailed by Adam Carey for South London News, the incident formed part of a series of attacks on three London councils—Westminster City Council, Hammersmith and Fulham Council, and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea—in November 2025. Local Government Lawyer confirmed these details in its coverage linking the events to broader government cyber security initiatives.
As reported by Adam Carey of South London News, the council stated the attack was executed with criminal intent, resulting in data being copied and taken away.
How has the cyber-attack impacted London councils?
The breaches exposed personal data of hundreds of thousands of residents, according to Computing.co.uk, raising alarms over privacy and the risks posed by interconnected public sector networks. Kensington and Chelsea Council issued statements in December 2025 and early 2026 admitting that sensitive information had been accessed, as covered by Intelligent CISO and IT Security Guru.
Which councils were affected and what services were hit?
The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea’s planning department bore the brunt, with disruptions extending to core administrative functions. Think Digital Partners noted that the council warned residents at the start of 2026 about the potential compromise of personal details. Hammersmith and Fulham, along with Westminster, experienced parallel issues, though specifics on their planning services varied. Cyber Magazine highlighted the event as emblematic of global public sector risks, with London’s incidents prompting immediate scrutiny of IT dependencies.
What is the government doing in response to these attacks?
The UK Government published the Government Cyber Action Plan on January 6, 2026, backed by £210 million in funding to bolster defences across public services. GOV.UK outlined the plan’s focus on creating a new Government Cyber Unit for coordinated threat response, improved risk visibility, and resilience measures targeting critical services.
Local Government Lawyer reported that Digital Government Minister Ian Murray described the initiative as setting a new standard to protect public sector operations from cyber-criminals. The plan addresses gaps identified in prior assessments, such as GovAssure’s findings on departmental vulnerabilities, and includes a Software Security Ambassador Scheme to mitigate supply chain risks. Computing.co.uk noted industry welcomes for the effort but cautioned that the funding may fall short given the public sector’s complexity, especially after previous allocations like £2.6 billion in 2021 failed to resolve persistent issues.
According to GOV.UK, the action plan will establish refreshed governance, central services, and a cyber profession within government by April 2027, with escalation routes for severe risks.
