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Technology · Europe

Google cloud outage disrupts UK businesses as services recover

Google said a power event in its Europe-west2 region disrupted cloud services and caused intermittent network failures affecting UK businesses. Google said most issues were resolved by 3pm, while Revolut reported that several banking functions were unavailable or partly disrupted.

AI-assisted synthesis · Based on 5 independent reports from 8 outlets · Article text read from 3 of 5 reportsHow it's made

View timeline · 6 entries
8 outlets3 regionsLatest reporting 3 min read
Coverage: Center OnlyL 1 · C 7 · R 0
Updat3 graphic: Google
Updat3 graphic

What happened

Key facts

  • Google attributed the Europe-west2 outage to a power event that caused cloud service errors and intermittent network failures (per swindonadvertiser.co.uk, CNA, thenextweb.com).
  • The disruption affected Revolut services, including its websites and mobile apps (per swindonadvertiser.co.uk, CNA, thenextweb.com).
  • A person familiar with the matter told Reuters that Revolut’s outage was related to the Google Cloud disruption (per CNA, thenextweb.com, swindonadvertiser.co.uk).
  • Google said the Europe-west2 region was the only area affected (per swindonadvertiser.co.uk, CNA, thenextweb.com).
  • By 3pm, Google said the disruption was largely resolved, with a very small number of customers still affected (per swindonadvertiser.co.uk, CNA, thenextweb.com).
  • Google said its engineering team was investigating the incident and that it would publish an analysis after its internal investigation (per swindonadvertiser.co.uk, CNA).

The brief

A power event in Google’s Europe-west2 cloud region disrupted cloud services and affected Revolut and other businesses, while Google said most problems had been resolved by 3pm. Google attributed the cloud errors and intermittent network failures to the power event; it said the London-based region was the only area affected.

The disruption affected customers in a region primarily designed to serve the UK and Ireland. Revolut said multiple systems were down or partly unavailable, including card payments, transfers, cash withdrawals and account sign-ins. A person familiar with the matter told Reuters that Revolut’s outage was related to the Google Cloud disruption.

The outlets also reported that Revolut’s websites and mobile apps were affected. Google’s service disruption and Revolut’s service problems were reported on Tuesday, with Google describing the region as its Europe-west2 operation. The disruption extended beyond Revolut. Coverage described problems affecting UK businesses and named banks and courts among the services affected.

CNA reported that websites and mobile apps at several banks, financial firms and public service providers in the region experienced disruption. The accounts describe the reach of the outage differently in emphasis: the Swindon Advertiser highlights banks and courts, while CNA includes financial firms and public service providers.

Both connect the event to Google’s London-based cloud region, but the detail about Revolut’s particular systems comes from the Swindon Advertiser. Google said its engineering team was investigating the incident. The Swindon Advertiser reported that Google planned to publish an analysis after its internal investigation was complete.

Google had not given a reason for the disruption beyond identifying the power event as the cause, according to that account. By 3pm, Google said the issues were largely resolved, although a very small number of customers remained affected.

The reports point to the dependence of businesses on shared cloud infrastructure: a disruption in one Google region coincided with problems across multiple services that use it. CNA noted that the region is primarily intended for UK and Ireland customers.

That geography helps explain why services across those markets were affected, while Google said the incident was limited to Europe-west2. The next concrete steps described are Google’s continuing engineering investigation and its promised post-investigation analysis. The accounts do not identify the specific power-system failure or provide a final technical explanation.

Google’s account of the cause and scope remains its own assessment, while Reuters’ source linked Revolut’s outage to the cloud disruption.

Why it matters

  • Revolut customers faced interruptions to card payments, transfers, cash withdrawals and account sign-ins, restricting access to everyday banking functions.
  • Businesses and customers using services in Google’s Europe-west2 region faced disruption; the region primarily serves the UK and Ireland.
  • Google said only Europe-west2 was affected, but reported impacts reached Revolut and other businesses, including banks and courts.
  • Google’s engineering investigation and planned analysis matter because the company attributed the outage to a power event but had not yet provided a fuller technical account.

What to watch next

  • Whether Google publishes its promised incident analysis after completing its internal investigation.
  • Whether Google’s engineering team identifies the technical cause of the power event and network failures.
  • Whether Google confirms that the very small number of customers still affected after 3pm have regained service.
  • Whether Revolut reports that card payments, transfers, cash withdrawals and account sign-ins are fully available again.

How it's being covered

Coverage analysisShow details
8 source articles · 8 unique outlets · 5 distinct reports
Outlet political mix: Center Only· 1 Left · 7 Center
Where the outlets are based: Global 38% · Europe 25% · Other 37%
Outlet political mix
Center Only
Left
Center
Right
1 outlet
7 outlets
0 outlets
The marker shows coverage balance: each unique outlet counts once.
Geography
Where the outlets covering this story are based.
8 unique outletsDominant coverage: Europe
Coverage imbalance
  • Coverage is currently concentrated among Center-rated outlets (7 of 8 rated sources); comparatively few Right-rated outlets have published on the event.
How we measure coverage

2 sources are from a wire service (AP, Reuters, AFP or Bloomberg), whose reporting other outlets often republish.

How outlets' accounts compare

4 framing differences · 1 uncorroborated claim · 1 information gap
The reports repeat the same account with different emphasis; its central claims are not independently confirmed in the reporting Updat3 read.Compared across 3 reports whose article text Updat3 read; 2 other outlets were checked by headline only.
Framing / emphasis differences
Sources emphasise different angles, actors or consequences of the same reporting.
  • The Swindon Advertiser emphasizes Google’s power-event explanation and recovery by 3pm; CNA foregrounds the London data-centre disruption and the dependence of businesses on digital infrastructure.
  • The Swindon Advertiser names banks and courts among affected services, while CNA describes banks, financial firms and public service providers.
  • Google attributed its cloud disruption to a power event; the link between that disruption and Revolut’s outage was attributed by Reuters to a person familiar with the matter.
  • Google attributed the outage to a power event, but the accounts do not identify the underlying technical failure that caused it.
Updat3: These are differences of emphasis, not disputes about what is reported. They do not show that the reported claims are true.
One-sided or uncorroborated claims
Claims that come from one party or one source family and are not independently corroborated.
  • Google said it would publish an analysis after completing its internal investigation.
Updat3: Not independently corroborated yet — treat as a claim, not an established fact.
Not established by the reporting
Information the available reporting does not contain or confirm. This is a gap, not a disagreement.
  • The accounts do not quantify the total number of customers or businesses affected across all services.
Updat3: Updat3 cannot conclude anything about this from the current sources.

Timeline

Developments from this story's sources, dated background we compiled and fact-checked, and our earlier coverage. Each row says which.
  1. Larry Page and Sergey Brin founded Google.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  2. Google introduced Google Cloud Platform.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  3. Google opened App Engine for public preview.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  4. Revolut, founded in London in 2015, was among the financial-technology firms built during the expansion of app-based banking and digital payments.
    Background · from our historical context
  5. Google opened its London cloud region, Europe-west2, in 2017, giving UK organisations a locally hosted option within its global infrastructure.
    Background · from our historical context
  6. A major Google Cloud outage on 2 June 2019 affected services including YouTube and Gmail, illustrating how disruption to shared cloud infrastructure can reach many online services at once.
    Background · from our historical context

How we got here

Google opened its London cloud region, Europe-west2, in 2017, giving UK organisations a locally hosted option within its global infrastructure. Revolut, founded in London in 2015, was among the financial-technology firms built during the expansion of app-based banking and digital payments.

Google’s cloud business grew from Google App Engine, which entered public preview in 2008, to Google Cloud Platform, introduced in 2011. A major Google Cloud outage on 2 June 2019 affected services including YouTube and Gmail, illustrating how disruption to shared cloud infrastructure can reach many online services at once.

Related developments1 story

Original sources

2 of 8 articles · Asia · Show all

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