A defense official has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is currently looking into the potential security risks posed by Chinese cars, while personnel have been advised to refrain from discussing classified information in all cars.
Safety Guidance for Defence Personnel
In a recent interview on LBC, Luke Pollard commented on reports that Ministry of Defence staff have been told not to discuss secret material while riding in China-made vehicles.
He explained that the ministry is “looking into” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, but emphasised that security is a concern in every modern vehicles.
We have a fleet 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 non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our people is to avoid connecting MoD devices into their car, not to have discussions at a secret classification in any car, because of the growing risks of eavesdropping that exist in all vehicle, to restrict those confidential conversations in protected areas. This is a prudent and sensible thing for anyone concerned about security.
When it was suggested that it would be wise for the MoD to cease using every cars from China, the minister responded: That is exactly what we are looking into at the moment.”
Broader Defence Context
This announcement comes as reports from Scandinavian countries have alerted the United Kingdom to the presence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made buses, which could allow the Chinese government to switch off public transport and cause disruption to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russian intelligence vessel has been shining lasers at RAF aircrew, described as a “highly dangerous” act by defence officials.
This broader security environment underscores the significance of robust measures and caution in every areas of official activities, including vehicle usage to discussions habits.
