A defense minister has stated that the MoD is actively examining the possible threats posed by Chinese-made vehicles, while staff have been told to avoid talking about secret matters in any cars.
Security Guidance for Defence Staff
In a recent interview on LBC, Luke Pollard commented on claims that MoD officials have been told not to talk about classified material while travelling in China-made cars.
He explained that the ministry is “looking into” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, but noted that safety is a issue in every contemporary cars.
Our department has a collection of tens of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and Chinese ones account for a very small number.
However regardless of if you’re driving a Chinese car or a car from another country, our instruction to our staff is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence technology into their vehicle, not to have discussions at a secret classification in any kind of car, because of the increasing threats of surveillance that are present in every single vehicle, to restrict those confidential conversations in protected areas. This is a wise and sensible thing for everyone concerned about safety.
When it was put to him that it would be wise for the MoD to stop using all cars from China, the minister replied: That is precisely what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Broader Defence Background
The announcement follows claims from Scandinavian countries have alerted the United Kingdom to the existence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese electric buses, which could enable China to switch off buses and bring chaos to public transit.
Additionally, a Russia spy ship has been shining laser beams at Royal Air Force aircrew, described as a “highly dangerous” act by defence officials.
This broader security environment highlights the importance of strong protocols and vigilance in every aspects of government activities, including transport usage to discussions practices.
