London councils have warned residents of delays in responding to enquiries and difficulties accessing online services following a widespread Microsoft outage that has disrupted organisations across the capital.
The disruption, which began at around 6pm on Thursday, 12 November 2026, has affected popular Microsoft services, including Outlook and Teams.
Microsoft said it was working to resolve connectivity problems first reported in America, but later acknowledged that users “in any region” could be affected.
Monitoring website Downdetector recorded a spike in reports of problems with Microsoft Teams in the UK at around 6.15pm on Thursday.
The outage has caused widespread disruption, with the Metropolitan Police, London Fire Brigade and Parliament among the organisations affected.
Several London councils have also warned that responding to residents’ enquiries and processing online forms could take longer while the disruption continues.
However, the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) understands that councils have contingency measures in place to deal with such outages, with most services continuing to operate as normal.
Councils warn of delays and difficulties accessing services
Kensington and Chelsea Council said in a statement on its website: “Like many organisations around the world, we’re experiencing disruption to some of our systems as a result of a global Microsoft outage. This means residents may find it more difficult than usual to contact us, and we may take longer to respond to enquiries.
“We understand how frustrating this can be and apologise for any inconvenience caused. We’re monitoring the situation and will provide further updates as we receive more information from Microsoft.”
Similar warnings have appeared on other council websites, either through official statements or notification banners.
Hammersmith and Fulham Council advised residents: “The global Microsoft outage is affecting access to some of our online services. You may have trouble submitting online forms or receiving email responses from the council. Thank you for your patience. Our phone lines are open as normal.”
Westminster City Council said it was “monitoring the situation” and working to minimise disruption to services.
Meanwhile, the City of London Corporation, which governs the Square Mile, confirmed that although some systems had been affected, “most of our online services are functioning as usual”.
Microsoft says there is no evidence of malicious activity
The UK Government said it was working with Microsoft to assess the impact of the outage on public services.
A government spokesperson said: “We are working closely with Microsoft to assess any impact on government services, with robust contingency plans in place to minimise disruption.”
Microsoft has confirmed that there is currently “no evidence of malicious activity associated with this incident”.
In an online update, the company added: “We will continue to treat this with urgency until full mitigation, and we will share a full Post-Incident Report with root cause and defense-in-depth actions after mitigation is complete.”
Residents who need to contact their local council urgently are advised to use telephone services while online disruption continues. Council switchboard numbers can be found on their respective websites.
