Government Official Says Ministry of Defence Investigating Potential Threat from Chinese Cars, as Personnel Instructed to Avoid Confidential Discussions in Cars.
An defense minister has revealed that the Ministry of Defence is actively examining the possible security risks associated with Chinese vehicles, and personnel have been advised to refrain from talking about secret matters in all vehicles.
Security Advice for Defence Staff
In a recently aired interview on LBC, Luke Pollard addressed reports that MoD staff have been told not to talk about secret material while riding in Chinese vehicles.
The minister said that the ministry is “examining” cars from China within its vehicle pools, but stressed that safety is a issue in all modern vehicles.
Our department has a fleet of tens of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and those vehicles represent a tiny fraction.
However regardless of if you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a car from another country, what we’ve asked our people is not to plug MoD devices into their vehicle, not to have conversations at a classified classification in any kind of vehicle, due to the increasing threats of surveillance that exist in every single vehicle, to only have those secret talks in secure locations. This is a prudent and sensible thing for everyone concerned about security.
When it was suggested that it would be prudent for the ministry to stop using all cars from China, the minister responded: ‘That’s exactly what we are looking into at the moment.”
Wider Security Context
This announcement follows claims 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 switch off buses and cause chaos to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russia spy ship was reportedly directing laser beams at RAF aircrew, described as a “extremely risky” action by defence officials.
This wider security environment underscores the importance of strong protocols and vigilance in all areas of government activities, including transport use to discussions practices.
