[2022] Game freezing + audio tearing only when playing in a party

Hi there, My install of Rainbow Six only crashes when I'm in a party with a friend trying to play together. 

The game works with out any faults when I'm playing on my own, no issues at all in all game modes including online matches.

However when I invite a friend to my party or join their party, and then play any game mode with them, the audio begins tearing / lagging consistently. The game also tends to freeze and crash. The only way for me to exit once this has happened is to restart my computer. This also happens in non - online matches like training grounds. Both our internet connections are pretty solid with consistently low pings at around 5-20. 

We have both been playing Rainbow together for a few months and this only seems to have come in affect once the planned maintenance was carried out recently. 

I have tried updating all drivers, running the game with no background programs running, verifying game files through the Ubisoft connect application and playing with other people but have had no luck with any of these methods.

Unfortunately this has also resulted in me getting a number of abandon penalties. As when i restart the app and try to re-join after crashing it will not.

Thanks