An defence minister has confirmed that the MoD is currently investigating the possible security risks posed by Chinese-made vehicles, and staff have been instructed to refrain from talking about secret matters in any cars.
Safety Advice for MoD Personnel
In a recent appearance on LBC, Luke Pollard commented on claims that MoD staff have been instructed not to discuss classified information while travelling in Chinese cars.
The minister stated that the MoD is “examining” cars from China within its fleets, but emphasised that safety is a issue in every contemporary vehicles.
We have a fleet of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones represent a very small number.
However regardless of if you’re driving a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our staff is not to plug Ministry of Defence technology into their vehicle, to avoid having discussions at a secret classification in any kind of car, because of the increasing risks of surveillance that are present in all automobile, to restrict those secret conversations in secure locations. This is a prudent and sensible thing for anyone concerned about security.
When it was put to him that it would be prudent for the MoD to stop using every Chinese vehicles, the minister replied: That is exactly what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Wider Security Background
This announcement follows claims from Scandinavian countries have warned the United Kingdom to the existence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese electric buses, which could enable the Chinese government to disable buses and cause disruption to public transit.
Additionally, a Russia spy ship was reportedly shining laser beams at Royal Air Force aircrew, labeled a “highly dangerous” act by government representatives.
This broader security situation underscores the importance of robust protocols and caution in every areas of government activities, including transport usage to communication practices.
