A whopping 250 new jobs and 1,700 training opportunities will be created by the new Business Cyber Centre opened in Chippenham on Tuesday by local MP Michelle Donelan.

It will also attract further investment into the town which will create high paid and high skilled jobs for local people, the Universities Minister claimed.

Miss Donelan missed Tuesday's first State Opening of Parliament by Prince Charles to officially open the new Business Cyber Centre at Chippenham’s Greenways Business Park.

The MP has been pushing ministers across government for more funding to level up Chippenham and in securing £3.7 million of funding from the Getting Building Fund for the project.

Miss Donelan said: “I missed the State Opening of Parliament to open Wiltshire’s first Business Cyber Centre in Chippenham

“I have been pushing ministers for more investment into Chippenham to level up the town and I have been successful in securing millions of pounds of funding which has been used to build the UK’s first Business-led Cyber Centre.

“The Cyber Centre is great news for our town and will create a whopping 250 new jobs and 1,700 training opportunities.

“I was delighted to receive a tour of the new centre and cut the ribbon declaring it officially open. I look forward to working with the Cyber Centre and the results this will bring for local people.”

Miss Donelan said she sees each week just how Chippenham and Wiltshire are awash with talented individuals and thriving businesses who need some additional support to help grow and the Cyber Centre will do just that.

“It will turn cyber complexity into cyber confidence by closing the cyber skills gap allowing people and businesses to learn and grow through training and cyber professional level courses,” she said.

In the last 12 months, more than one-third of UK companies have suffered a security breach and cyber attacks are estimated to cause losses of £2.7 billion worth of data and assets each year across the UK and £29.5 million here in Wiltshire.

Despite this alarming fact, 29 per cent of UK small and medium businesses cancelled their cyber insurance policy in 2021, increasing their financial risk.

Miss Donelan added: “This also highlights that we need to raise awareness of the real threat of cyber attacks, which this centre will do.

“By having the UK’s first Business Cyber Centre here will put Chippenham on the map as a hub of cyber security, digital innovation and technology.”