A defense minister has stated that the MoD is currently examining the possible threats associated with Chinese-made cars, while staff have been advised to avoid talking about classified matters in any vehicles.
Safety Advice for Defence Staff
In a recent interview on LBC, Luke Pollard addressed reports that MoD staff have been instructed not to talk about secret information while travelling in China-made vehicles.
The minister explained that the MoD is “investigating” cars from China within its vehicle pools, but stressed that safety is a issue in every 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.
But whether you’re driving a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our people is not to plug MoD technology into their car, not to have conversations at a classified classification in any vehicle, because of the growing threats of eavesdropping that are present in every single vehicle, to restrict those secret conversations in protected areas. That’s a prudent and sensible thing for anyone worried about security.
After it was suggested that it would be wise for the ministry to stop using every Chinese vehicles, the minister replied: That is exactly what we are looking into at the moment.”
Wider Defence Background
This announcement comes as reports from Scandinavian countries have alerted the UK to the existence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese buses, which could enable China to switch off buses and bring disruption to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russian spy ship was reportedly directing laser beams at RAF pilots, labeled a “extremely risky” act by defence officials.
This broader security environment underscores the importance of robust protocols and vigilance in every aspects of official operations, including transport usage to communication practices.
