South West: Disruption caused by Microsoft outage
Press AssociationBusinesses, first responders and transport companies in Devon and Cornwall have been affected by a national Microsoft outage.
Teams, Outlook and AI software Copilot have been affected and Microsoft said attempts to fix the issue so far were "not taking as expected".
Royal Devon NHS Trust said it was unable to access emails and people who needed to get in touch urgently should call them.
In a post on social media, Cornwall Council called on people who experienced delays getting through to its contact centre to "bear with us".
Train operator Great Western Railway (GWR), which serves both Devon and Cornwall, said the outage was affecting its ability to automatically email ticket confirmations.
It said customers could access tickets through the GWR app.
Devon and Cornwall police said some online form submissions may be affected.
It added: "If your report is time-critical but not an emergency, please call 101. In an emergency, call 999."
Dr Tim Frank, an NHS GP in Penzance, Cornwall, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that Microsoft products were "central" to the operation of his area's primary care and community services.
"This is going to be very disruptive today and Fridays are always a heavily laden day due to the upcoming weekend," he said.
The doctor said alternative communication numbers were being distributed among teams "so no patients suffer".