An defence minister has confirmed that the MoD is currently investigating the potential threats posed by Chinese vehicles, and staff have been told to avoid talking about secret information in any vehicles.
Safety Advice for MoD Staff
In a recently aired interview on LBC, Luke Pollard commented on claims that MoD staff have been instructed not to talk about secret material while riding in China-made vehicles.
He said that the ministry is “examining” cars from China within its vehicle pools, however noted that safety is a concern in all modern vehicles.
We have a fleet of tens of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles account for a tiny fraction.
However whether you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a car from another country, our instruction to our people is not to plug MoD technology into their vehicle, to avoid having discussions at a classified classification in any vehicle, due to the growing risks of eavesdropping that are present in every single automobile, to restrict those confidential conversations in secure locations. This is a prudent and sensible thing for anyone concerned about security.
After it was put to him that it would be prudent for the ministry to cease using all Chinese vehicles, the minister responded: ‘That’s exactly what we are looking into at the present time.”
Broader Security Background
This announcement follows reports from Scandinavian countries 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 public transit.
Additionally, a Russian spy ship was reportedly directing lasers at RAF pilots, described as a “highly dangerous” action by defence officials.
This broader defence environment underscores the importance of robust protocols and caution in every areas of official operations, from vehicle use to discussions practices.
