Minister Says Ministry of Defence Looking at Potential Threat from Chinese Cars, as Personnel Instructed to Avoid Confidential Discussions in Cars.
An defense official has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is actively investigating the potential security risks posed by Chinese-made vehicles, and staff have been advised to refrain from discussing secret information in any cars.
Safety Advice for Defence Personnel
During a recently aired appearance on LBC, Luke Pollard addressed reports that Ministry of Defence officials have been told not to discuss secret information while travelling in China-made cars.
He said that the MoD is “looking into” cars from China within its fleets, however emphasised that safety is a issue in all modern vehicles.
Our department has a fleet of thousands of cars in the MoD and Chinese ones represent a very small number.
But regardless of if you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our people is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence devices into their car, not to have conversations at a classified classification in any car, because of the increasing risks of surveillance that are present in all automobile, to restrict those confidential conversations in secure locations. This is a prudent and reasonable thing for anyone concerned about safety.
When it was put to him that it would be wise for the MoD to stop using every Chinese vehicles, Pollard replied: That is precisely what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Wider Defence Background
The revelation follows claims from Norway and Denmark have alerted the United Kingdom to the presence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese electric buses, which could enable China to disable public transport and bring chaos to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russian spy ship was reportedly shining laser beams at Royal Air Force aircrew, described as a “extremely risky” action by government representatives.
This wider defence environment highlights the significance of robust protocols and caution in every areas of official operations, from vehicle use to communication habits.
