A “technical fault” with the UK’s 999 emergency line appears to have been fixed after a nationwide issue which impacted police, fire and ambulance services.
BT said its back-up platform was “now working” and that people should call 999 “as usual”.
Several police forces, including London’s Metropolitan Police, as well as fire and ambulance services, said they were now taking emergency calls via 999.
See the full list of services affected
It comes after forces across the UK urged people not to dial 999, warning that calls to the emergency line were not working due to a “technical fault”.
Instead, people were advised to phone 101 in an emergency.
The Metropolitan Police, Police Scotland, South Wales Police, Greater Manchester Police and the Police Service Northern Ireland (PSNI) all shared similar posts on Twitter.
Scottish Fire and Rescue Service also warned that “many calls” to 999 were not connecting, while London Ambulance Service (LAS) and the North West Ambulance Service shared similar messages on Twitter.
NHS England said the issue was “affecting the national 999 call system” and urged those unable to contact 999 in a medical emergency to call 111 who will redirect the call.
West Yorkshire Police said the issue was with BT’s 999 lines and that the company was experiencing issues “all over the country”, while Northamptonshire Police also described the technical fault as “nationwide”.
Northamptonshire Police said BT was working to get this fault resolved “as soon as possible” and urged people to make non-emergency reports via its website.
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A spokesperson for BT said in a statement: “Early this morning, we experienced a problem with the 999 service.
“The situation is fast-moving as we fix the problem and our back-up platform is now working – so people should call 999 as usual. We will provide updates as the issue is resolved.”
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Cumbria Police said it was now receiving 999 calls following the technical fault and urged people to call 999 in an emergency, while the Metropolitan Police also said the system had been “restored”.
Dorset Police said it had received an update from BT that 999 calls could “now be taken”, but urged those still experiencing trouble getting through to call 101 in an emergency.
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“Please only call in an emergency and while we are experiencing this issue, please wait to call 101 with non-emergency matters or report non-emergency incidents online,” the force said in a post on Twitter.
https://news.sky.com/story/met-police-asks-people-not-to-call-999-after-technical-fault-hits-number-of-forces-12909163
