An defence minister has confirmed that the MoD is actively looking into the potential threats posed by Chinese-made cars, and staff have been advised to refrain from talking about secret information in any cars.
Safety Advice for Defence Staff
During a recent appearance on LBC, Luke Pollard commented on claims that MoD officials have been instructed not to talk about classified information while riding in China-made cars.
The minister said that the MoD is “examining” cars from China within its vehicle pools, however stressed that safety is a concern in every contemporary vehicles.
We have a fleet of tens of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and those vehicles represent a tiny fraction.
But regardless of if you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a car from another country, what we’ve asked our staff is not to plug Ministry of Defence devices into their vehicle, not to have discussions at a secret classification in any car, due to the increasing threats of surveillance that exist in all vehicle, to restrict those confidential talks in protected areas. That’s a wise and sensible thing for anyone worried about security.
When it was put to him that it would be wise for the ministry to stop using every Chinese vehicles, Pollard replied: ‘That’s exactly what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Broader Security Context
The revelation follows claims from Scandinavian countries have warned the United Kingdom to the existence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made electric buses, which could allow the Chinese government to disable public transport and bring chaos to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russian spy ship was reportedly directing laser beams at RAF aircrew, described as a “extremely risky” action by government representatives.
This wider security environment underscores the significance of strong protocols and vigilance in all areas of official activities, from transport use to communication habits.
