A defense official has revealed that the MoD is currently investigating the potential threats associated with Chinese cars, and staff have been advised to refrain from talking about classified matters in all cars.
Safety Guidance for MoD Staff
In a recently aired interview on a radio station, Luke Pollard commented on claims that Ministry of Defence officials have been instructed not to talk about secret information while travelling in China-made vehicles.
The minister said that the MoD is “investigating” cars from China within its vehicle pools, but emphasised that safety is a concern in every contemporary vehicles.
Our department has a collection of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones represent a tiny fraction.
However regardless of if you’re driving a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our people is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence technology into their car, not to have discussions at a classified level in any kind of car, because of the growing threats of eavesdropping that exist in every single vehicle, to restrict those secret talks in secure locations. This is a wise and sensible thing for anyone worried about security.
After it was put to him that it would be prudent for the ministry to stop using all Chinese vehicles, Pollard replied: That is exactly what we are looking into at the moment.”
Wider Security Background
The revelation comes as claims from Scandinavian countries have alerted the UK to the presence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made electric buses, which could allow China to switch off buses and cause disruption to public transit.
Additionally, a Russia intelligence vessel was reportedly shining laser beams at RAF aircrew, described as a “extremely risky” action by government representatives.
This broader security situation underscores the importance of robust measures and vigilance in all areas of official operations, including transport usage to discussions habits.
