A major Microsoft outage has disrupted services across the south of England, affecting police forces, hospitals, GP surgeries, and local councils. The outage has impacted Teams, Outlook, and Microsoft's AI software Copilot, leaving many organizations without email access. While most services continue to operate normally, some online forms and electronic-based services are down, leading to potential delays in responding to enquiries.
Police forces in Hampshire & Isle of Wight, Thames Valley, and Dorset have confirmed that their phone lines remain operational, allowing them to respond to emergencies. However, their online reporting systems are currently unavailable. Dorset Police advised the public to call 101 for time-critical but non-emergency reports until the issue is resolved.
Hospitals in the region, including the Isle of Wight NHS Trust and Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, have assured patients that emergency services remain functional. They have urged individuals with appointments to attend as planned and to contact services by telephone rather than email. GP surgeries and local councils, such as Slough Borough Council, have redeployed staff to manage increased phone traffic, though they have requested that calls be limited to urgent matters only.
Microsoft has stated that the outage is not the result of a cyber-security incident, but efforts to restore services on Friday have so far been unsuccessful.