An defence official has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is currently examining the possible threats associated with Chinese vehicles, and staff have been told to refrain from discussing secret information in all vehicles.
Safety Advice for Defence Personnel
In a recently aired interview on a radio station, Luke Pollard addressed claims that MoD staff have been instructed not to talk about classified information while riding in China-made cars.
The minister explained that the ministry is “investigating” cars from China within its fleets, however noted that safety is a concern in all contemporary cars.
Our department has a fleet of tens of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles represent a tiny fraction.
But regardless of if you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a car from another country, what we’ve asked our people is to avoid connecting MoD technology into their vehicle, to avoid having discussions at a classified classification in any kind of car, due to the growing threats of surveillance that exist in every single automobile, to only have those confidential talks in secure locations. This is a prudent and reasonable thing for everyone concerned about security.
After it was put to him that it would be prudent for the MoD to stop using all cars from China, Pollard replied: That is precisely what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Broader Security Context
This revelation follows reports from Scandinavian countries have alerted the UK to the presence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese-made buses, which could allow the Chinese government to disable buses and bring chaos to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russian spy ship has been directing lasers at Royal Air Force aircrew, labeled a “highly dangerous” action by defence officials.
This broader security environment highlights the importance of strong measures and caution in all areas of government operations, including transport use to communication practices.
