UK’s Starmer being kept updated on IT outage but has not chaired emergency meeting, says spokesperson

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LONDON (Reuters) – British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is being kept updated on the global tech outage that has disrupted a range of industries but he has not convened a so-called COBRA meeting to discuss civil contingencies, his spokesperson said.

Officials from the COBRA Unit, which manages the government’s response to a national emergency, are working closely with affected sectors and are keeping ministers updated, the spokesperson said.

“There was a meeting of officials covering the various sectors and industry affected – a meeting to be able to ensure that they’re keeping ministers and all the relevant departments updated on the very latest picture,” the spokesperson said on Friday.

Asked why Starmer hadn’t convened a COBRA meeting personally, the spokesperson pointed to the visit of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Friday morning, and said no such COBRA meeting with ministers was currently planned.