An defence official has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is currently investigating the potential security risks posed by Chinese-made cars, while staff have been told to avoid discussing classified matters in all cars.
Safety Guidance for Defence Personnel
During a recent interview on LBC, Luke Pollard commented on claims that MoD officials have been told not to talk about secret material while riding in Chinese cars.
The minister explained that the ministry is “looking into” cars from China within its fleets, however stressed that safety is a concern in every contemporary cars.
We have a collection 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 Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our people is to avoid connecting MoD devices into their vehicle, to avoid having conversations at a secret level in any kind of vehicle, due to the increasing risks of surveillance that are present in all vehicle, to only have those secret conversations in protected areas. That’s a prudent and reasonable thing for anyone worried about security.
When it was put to him that it would be prudent for the MoD to stop using all cars from China, Pollard replied: ‘That’s precisely what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Wider Security Background
The revelation follows reports from Scandinavian countries have warned the United Kingdom to the presence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese electric buses, which could enable the Chinese government to switch off buses and bring chaos to public transit.
Additionally, a Russia intelligence vessel was reportedly directing lasers at RAF aircrew, labeled a “extremely risky” action by government representatives.
This broader security situation highlights the importance of robust protocols and vigilance in all areas of official operations, including vehicle usage to discussions practices.
