The Government has announced an inquiry into the causes of the large-scale electricity failure that affected large parts of the UK on Friday last week. Almost 1m people were affected by the outage across a large geographical area, which occurred after almost simultaneous problems at two power stations.

Everbridge has completed its acquisition of threat intelligence solutions provider NC4, creating an end-to-end critical event management and threat assessment platform for business continuity.

Chancellor Sajid Javid has doubled this year’s Brexit funding with today's announcement of an extra £2.1bn for no-deal preparations. This consists of an immediate cash boost of £1.1bn to prepare “critical areas” ahead of the UK’s October exit from the European Union, plus a further £1bn available to enhance operational preparedness this year “if needed”.

Only a third of businesses have complete confidence in their disaster recovery capabilities, according to insight from Databarracks. Just 35% of respondents to the company’s annual Data Health Check survey have full confidence in their plans, while just 49% have complete confidence in their current back-up solution.

More than 12 countries in Europe, including Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and the UK, have confirmed record-breaking temperatures, following the warmest June since records began in 1880, according to meteorologists. All four countries remain on extreme heat alert, but buildings haven’t been designed to deal with high temperatures, and most businesses struggle to keep their offices cool when things go above the mid-20s.

The Met Office has warned that parts of Britain could become warmer than the Algarve as a heatwave sweeps across the UK, and Public Health England has responded by issuing an amber heat-health warning – just one level below the ‘national emergency’ red warning. From a pleasant 25°C in Glasgow and Edinburgh to a scorching 35°C in London, the current heatwave could smash the high record of 36.7°C currently held for the hottest day in July. The highest ever UK temperature - 38.5°C - set in Faversham in August 2003, is also currently ‘under threat’.

We often hear that political stability is essential for business continuity, yet we find ourselves in a position where we are having an election for a new prime minister while MPs in the candidates’ own party are openly questioning the immediate viability of their most fundamental commitments. It seems that political stability will not exist for a long time to come.

Avalution Consulting has acquired business continuity research and staffing firm, BC Management with which the business continuity and IT disaster recovery consulting firm has worked for a number years. The combined firm's offering now includes business continuity consulting (both project-based and outsourced), the Catalyst Business Continuity Software solution, permanent placement staffing and data analytics, research and custom benchmarking.

A new study has highlighted the scale of the battle UK business leaders face when business disruption hits, as 54% admit to suffering from stress-related illnesses or damage to their mental wellbeing in the aftermath of cyber attacks, IT outages or network failures. Research from Sungard Availability Services highlights the extent to which senior executives are linked to their company’s resilience. Findings from the study of 250 C-Suite respondents in companies with 500+ employees in the UK, found 49% of CEOs have suffered from stress-related illnesses and/or damage to their mental wellbeing, a figure which rises to 62% among CIOs/CTOs.

It was a big night for CMAC at the Business Continuity Awards... They will be filling the trophy cabinet after a raft of wins at the industry's main event. Find out who took away the coveted gongs from the Mayfair Gala Dinner last night, hosted by the fabulous Sindhu Vee....

A new standard has been launched, designed to help cities protect critical resources and create and sustain opportunities for enterprise. Developed by BSI with the support of the World Bank, UNISDR, UN Habitat, OECD and representatives from UK cities, it is hoped the standard will contribute to the preservation of cities in the face of rapid urban expansion, climate change and disruptive events, such as pandemics.

Online shopping fulfilment provider Ocado has warned staff that they may face redundancy following the fire at its warehouse operations in Andover, Hampshire in February. The £45m high-tech distribution facility suffered an extensive fire that burned for four days, which investigators believe was caused by a faulty battery charging unit.

The National Counter Terrorism Security Office has announced the availability its ACT Strategic initiative, created to help businesses explore ways of preventing, managing and recovering from a terrorist attack. ACT Strategic is aimed at those responsible for writing policies and procedures or strongly influencing them. The events themselves are aimed at 20-30 delegates from a range of organisations and business sectors. Conducted as a discussion-based exercise, delegates will be faced with a series of questions and dilemmas to resolve, both individually and collectively.

An increase in migrant stowaways and labour exploitation are among the current key challenges threatening global supply chains, according to a BSI report published today. Read on for more on the top five supply chain risks for 2019, as well as a list of the key threats from 2018...

The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) have agreed two Memoranda of Understanding to ensure continuity once the UK leaves the European Union. Covering trade repositories and alternative investment funds, the two agreements will ensure cross-border cooperation between the two organisations to provide certainty to businesses post-Brexit.