'Cyber security company CrowdStrike has admitted to being responsible for the error that hit Microsoft 365 apps and operating systems and said a 'fix has been deployed'. The American firm said it was caused by a 'defect found in a single content update' and insisted the issue 'was not a security incident or cyberattack'.

The 'most serious IT outage the world has ever seen' sparked global chaos today - with planes and trains halted, the NHS disrupted, shops closed, football teams unable to sell tickets and banks and TV channels knocked offline. 

Officials have held an emergency COBRA meeting after a devastating technical fault caused Microsoft's Windows software to suddenly shut down, prompting departure boards to immediately turn off at airports including Heathrow, Gatwick and Edinburgh on the busiest day for British airports since Covid.

NHS England said patients should not attend GP appointments unless informed otherwise due to problems with the system used to schedule appointments, while train passengers have been told to expect delays due to 'widespread IT issues across the entire network'.

With more than a thousand flights cancelled globally, passengers were seen sleeping in passageways at Los Angeles International Airport, huge queues formed at terminals across Spain, and in Delhi staff set up a makeshift whiteboard to record departures.