A defense minister has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is currently investigating the potential security risks posed by Chinese-made cars, and personnel have been told to avoid talking about classified information in all vehicles.
Safety Guidance for Defence Staff
During a recent appearance on LBC, Luke Pollard commented on claims that MoD staff have been told not to discuss classified information while riding in China-made vehicles.
The minister said that the MoD is “investigating” cars from China within its vehicle pools, however noted that safety is a issue in every contemporary vehicles.
We have a collection of tens of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles account for a very small number.
However regardless of if you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a car from another country, our instruction to our staff is not to plug MoD technology into their vehicle, to avoid having conversations at a classified classification in any vehicle, because of the growing threats of surveillance that exist in all automobile, to only have those secret talks in protected areas. That’s a wise and sensible thing for anyone concerned about security.
After it was suggested that it would be prudent for the MoD to cease using all cars from China, Pollard responded: ‘That’s exactly what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Wider Security Background
This revelation comes as claims from Norway and Denmark have alerted the UK to the presence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made electric buses, which could allow China to switch off buses and cause disruption to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russian intelligence vessel was reportedly directing laser beams at RAF pilots, described as a “extremely risky” action by defence officials.
This broader defence environment underscores the significance of robust measures and caution in all areas of official operations, including vehicle use to communication practices.
