An defence minister has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is currently examining the potential security risks posed by Chinese-made cars, while staff have been advised to refrain from talking about secret information in all vehicles.
Safety Advice for Defence Personnel
In a recent appearance on LBC, Luke Pollard addressed claims that MoD officials have been instructed not to discuss classified material while riding in China-made cars.
The minister said that the MoD is “examining” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, but noted that safety is a issue in all modern cars.
Our department has a collection of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and those vehicles represent a tiny fraction.
But whether you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a car from another country, our instruction to our staff is not to plug Ministry of Defence technology into their vehicle, to avoid having conversations at a secret classification in any kind of vehicle, due to the growing risks of eavesdropping that are present in all vehicle, to only have those confidential conversations in secure locations. This is a wise and sensible thing for everyone worried about security.
After it was put to him that it would be wise for the MoD to stop using every Chinese vehicles, the minister replied: ‘That’s precisely what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Broader Defence Context
The announcement follows claims from Norway and Denmark have warned the United Kingdom to the presence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese-made buses, which could allow the Chinese government to switch off public transport and bring chaos to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russian spy ship was reportedly shining lasers at RAF aircrew, described as a “highly dangerous” act by defence officials.
The broader defence environment highlights the importance of robust protocols and caution in all aspects of government activities, including transport use to discussions habits.
