Microsoft Teams & Outlook Outage Hits UK GP, Police

A global Microsoft Teams and Outlook outage brought parts of the UK's public sector to a standstill on Friday 13 November 2026, disrupting GP surgeries, police forces, pharmacies, hospitals and schools for more than 18 hours. Microsoft confirmed the incident was not a cyber-security event and said servers became unexpectedly unavailable during automated checks, triggering a cascade that strained other systems. The company reported encouraging recovery in Europe by Friday afternoon, but the outage exposed the fragility of critical services built around a single cloud provider.

What caused the Microsoft Teams and Outlook outage?

According to The Guardian, the disruption began late on Thursday 12 November and affected Outlook, Teams, Word, Excel, SharePoint, OneDrive and Copilot. Downdetector logged nearly 130,000 reports across 74 countries. Microsoft's Charles Lamanna said the company saw 'no indication of a cyber-attack', and attributed the failure to a configuration problem or elevated load that left servers unexpectedly unavailable. This placed pressure on the remaining infrastructure, delaying email delivery and calendar functions. The incident shares similarities with earlier large-scale outages, though unlike the CrowdStrike outage 2024, no security update was involved.

UK public services grind to a halt

The NHS was among the hardest hit. NHS England confirmed widespread disruption to email and IT systems. GP surgeries lost access to appointment calendars and consultation platforms, with staff reverting to paper records and phone-based Teams access. The National Pharmacy Association warned of longer waits and possible prescription delays, while the GMB union reported a growing backlog in 111 and 999 referrals. Some hospitals cancelled non-urgent appointments, including caesarean sections, because scheduling was tied to Microsoft systems. Patients were advised to attend appointments unless told otherwise and to call 999 for emergencies.

Police forces, including the Metropolitan Police, Greater Manchester and Police Scotland, urged the public to phone 101 or 999 rather than use online crime-reporting forms, which were inaccessible. This created a direct link between cloud failure and public safety, as forces with police digital reporting systems found their web portals offline. Schools and universities also lost email access, while National Rail warned that emailed tickets might not be accessible and Manchester's Minshull Street crown court sent some jurors home.

Which services were most affected?

• GP surgeries and hospitals: lost email, calendars and referral systems
• Pharmacies: warned of prescription delays
• Police forces: online reporting forms down
• Schools and universities: email and deadline disruption
• Transport: digital rail tickets at risk

Government response and contingency plans

The UK government said it was working closely with Microsoft and had robust contingency plans to minimise disruption. However, critics argued the incident revealed dangerous over-reliance on one vendor. Lord Clement-Jones and Labour MP Chi Onwurah pointed to the roughly £1.9 billion spent on Microsoft licences in 2025, warning that critical UK public sector cloud dependency leaves services vulnerable. When a single hyperscaler failure can delay cancer referrals and cancel surgery, we have a systemic resilience problem, Lord Clement-Jones told The Guardian. The incident is likely to renew calls for the government to diversify cloud providers and strengthen digital infrastructure resilience.

Recovery and expert perspectives

By Friday afternoon, Microsoft reported that email traffic was gradually restoring and queues were shrinking, though capacity remained below normal. Some services in North America and Japan also experienced intermittent issues. Cybersecurity analysts stressed that the absence of a cyber-attack does not reduce the operational damage. This is a reminder that reliability, not just security, is the foundation of digital public services, one infrastructure specialist told the BBC. The Microsoft Teams alternatives debate has resurfaced as organisations reassess single-provider risk. For affected users, experts recommended using phone and SMS for urgent coordination and watching for outage-themed phishing attempts.

FAQ: Microsoft Teams and Outlook outage

Was the Microsoft outage a cyber-attack?

No. Microsoft said there was no indication of a cyber-security incident. The cause appeared to be servers becoming unexpectedly unavailable, likely due to a configuration problem or elevated load.

How long did the Microsoft Teams and Outlook outage last?

The disruption began late on 12 November 2026 and stretched beyond 18 hours into Friday 13 November, with recovery still ongoing in some regions.

Which UK services were affected?

GP surgeries, hospitals, pharmacies, police forces, schools, universities, courts and rail services all reported disruption, with NHS staff reverting to paper records and phone-based work.

What should affected users do?

Use phone, SMS or in-person contact for urgent matters. Avoid password resets or profile changes during outages, and be alert to phishing emails that exploit the incident.

Is Microsoft compensating customers?

Microsoft has not announced compensation, but customers are advised to log impact details for potential service-level agreement claims.

What happens next?

The full root cause is still under investigation. As recovery continues, UK government departments are expected to review their reliance on Microsoft 365 and consider multi-cloud strategies. The episode follows a pattern of high-profile IT failures and reinforces the need for resilient, diversified digital infrastructure in essential services.