UK BROADCASTERS INCLUDING SKY NEWS AND CBBC FORCED OFF AIR DUE TO IT OUTAGE

UK broadcasters, including Sky News and CBBC, have been hit by a worldwide IT outage believed to have been caused by a Microsoft anti-virus update.

Updates

8:48am - Sky News back on air with a news update from its presenters. No graphics, imagery/visuals or presenter autocue.

8:55am - Sky News return to breakdown slide.

9:01am - Another Sky News news update from presenters, again with no graphics, imagery/visuals or presenter autocue.

A global IT outage has caused massive disruption to various services today, including airports, banks, businesses and broadcasters. GP surgeries across England were also impacted, the NHS has confirmed.

Microsoft blamed a third party for the disruption and said it was working to restore services. According to IT security firm CrowdStrike, this is not a security incident or a cyber attack.

Watch Sky News's special programme Crash: The Global IT Outage live at 8pm.