Google Cloud London Outage Disrupts Banks and NHS Services 2026

A power outage at Google's London datacentre caused widespread disruption on Tuesday, affecting multiple banking services, court hearings, and the NHS app. The incident occurred in Google Cloud's europe-west2-b zone, one of over a dozen zones the company maintains in Europe to serve clients.

According to Downdetector, the outage impacted Royal Mail, Revolut, HSBC, and Lloyds Bank, among others. The problems peaked around 9am and were somewhat resolved by mid-afternoon, though the cascade of failures highlighted the fragility of relying on a single cloud provider.

What Happened at the London Datacentre?

The power outage struck Google's europe-west2-b zone, a facility that stores data and runs operations for numerous businesses. Because Google Cloud provides critical infrastructure for these companies, the failure had immediate knock-on effects, mostly confined to UK businesses.

Revolut confirmed "a service disruption affecting multiple services" but added that "all our customers' money is safe." Court hearings were put on hold, and patients reported temporary glitches on the NHS app. The incident is not of the scale of a similar cascade last year, which saw Amazon Web Services go down for nearly half a day.

That outage hit Amazon's us-east1 node in Virginia, which hosts the greatest density of datacentres on Earth. It caused worldwide effects, including taking out the Roblox game and Signal messaging app, and causing smart mattresses to overheat. It lasted about 15 hours.

Why It Matters: The Ripple Effect of Cloud Dependence

The disruption underscores how deeply dependent modern businesses and public services are on a handful of cloud providers. When a single zone fails, the consequences can be felt across sectors—from finance to healthcare to the justice system.

For consumers, the outage meant disrupted banking transactions, delayed court proceedings, and unreliable access to health services. For businesses, it raises questions about redundancy and whether they should diversify their cloud infrastructure.

Google Cloud's europe-west2 zone is based in London and serves many UK-specific clients. The fact that the outage was mostly confined to the UK suggests that the zone's failure did not affect other regions, but it still had a significant local impact.

Key Takeaways

• Google Cloud's europe-west2-b zone in London suffered a power outage, causing widespread disruption.
• Affected services included Royal Mail, Revolut, HSBC, Lloyds Bank, court hearings, and the NHS app.
• The outage peaked around 9am and was partially resolved by mid-afternoon.
• The incident is smaller in scale than last year's AWS outage, which lasted 15 hours and had global effects.
• Businesses and public services remain vulnerable to single points of failure in cloud infrastructure.

How Does This Outage Compare to Previous Incidents?

The table below compares the Google Cloud London outage with the AWS us-east1 outage from last year.

What to Watch Next

As cloud providers continue to dominate the digital landscape, outages like this will become more scrutinized. Regulators and businesses may push for greater transparency and redundancy. Google has not yet released a detailed post-mortem, but customers will be looking for assurances that such failures are mitigated in the future.

Meanwhile, the UK government has shown increasing interest in datacentre infrastructure. Recent approvals of new datacentres have sparked debates about local democracy and environmental impact. For instance, the East London Datacentre approval sparks democracy concerns as residents question the decision-making process.

Environmental groups have also raised alarms about the carbon footprint of datacentres. A recent analysis found that the London datacentre carbon footprint equals 27,000 flights, highlighting the tension between digital growth and sustainability goals.

The approval process itself has been contentious. The East London Datacentre approval sparks democracy debate over whether local voices are being heard. Similarly, the East London Datacentre approval sparks local democracy outcry from community groups who feel sidelined.

These debates are not isolated to the UK. In Finland, Google was ordered to halt Finland datacentre construction over permitting issues, showing that even tech giants face regulatory hurdles. And in Australia, datacentre power demand surge tests Albanese as the government grapples with energy infrastructure.

For now, the London outage serves as a reminder that the digital infrastructure we rely on is not infallible. As businesses and governments continue to digitize, the resilience of cloud services will remain a critical concern.