Voter registration website crashes after last-minute rush to register for EU referendum

Gov.uk blames a "technical issue" for the deadline-day crash

The government's drive to register as many voters as possible in advance of the EU referendum on 23 June saw the Gov.uk website crash under the strain last night, when as many as half a million people logged-on to register in the final hours before the deadline.

The Gov.UK Twitter account was deluged with angry would-be voters wanting to know why the site was not working. Data showed that the surge occurred in the run-up to the midnight deadline, following an arms-length TV debate featuring Prime Minister David Cameron and UKIP leader Nigel Farage.

The Gov.uk team acknowledged the problem last night, imploring people to keep trying to get through even though the site was offline.

Some put the blame on people leaving their registration until the last minute, but others pointed out that the deadline is good until the moment it expires, so they were entitled to register at that time.

Others have called for the government to extend the deadline - although it may not be legal to do so - to enable people who could not register to vote after all.

Michael Allen, a vice president at website monitoring company Dynatrace, said that the situation was unfortunate, and should serve as a warning that organisations must expect huge surges in demand at any moment.

"Wherever the finger of blame ends up this time, it's important that anyone trying to compete or engage in today's digital economy takes note of the very important lesson that's been drawn to our attention once again," he said.

"It's vital that organisations can provide a seamless user experience for those trying to use their website. If that website is likely to experience peaks in demand, at times when it's critical for your audience to have access, you need to be confident that it can handle the extra traffic."