Dixons Carphone boss: Hacking was 'like having your house burgled'

Dixons Carphone chief executive Seb James compared the hacking of the company’s computer systems to a home break-in where he continues to blame himself.

The boss said: “It was like having your house burgled. We were cross and angry about it and thought there must be more we can do about this but the fact is this is a constant scourge for all businesses.”

He added that sales had not been affected by the breach, which saw 2.4 million customers’ details stolen, and that there had been no increases in fraud in relation to the hacking.

It comes as the company, which is owns Currys PC World and Carphone Warehouse, revealed sales in the 13 weeks to August 1 were up 8%, thanks to a strong performance in the UK and Ireland, where sales increased 10%.

"Overall, a very good start to the trading year but I am aware that there is plenty of the year left to go," James said.