Trying to get Bletchley Park up and running for the first time since the end of the Second World War is not a simple job – teenage hackers hoping to spend their school days encrypting codes from the site will have to wait a little longer.

Plans to transform the facility – once used to crack codes during the war – into the UK’s first National College of Cyber Security next September have been delayed by a year after the latest application round for free schools (the sixth form college will be free to its 450-odd students) was held up amid political uncertainty.

Given the crippling shortage of talent in the cyber security sector, that’s bad news for everyone.

Lloyd’s of London warned earlier this month that a serious cyber attack could cost the economy more than £92bn, with the financial services industry most at risk given its reliance on computer systems and the fact that most hackers are drawn to money.

While banks can pay large sums to hire the best experts, studies show that most UK specialists are over 45. As they start to retire, and hackers get more sophisticated, the stereotype of a cyber criminal – a sullen, nerdy teenager – is exactly what the City will need on its side.