A defence minister has revealed that the Ministry of Defence is currently investigating the potential threats posed by Chinese cars, and personnel have been told to refrain from discussing classified information in any cars.
Safety Guidance for Defence Staff
In a recently aired interview on LBC, Luke Pollard commented on claims that Ministry of Defence staff have been told not to talk about secret information while riding in China-made cars.
The minister explained that the MoD is “looking into” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, but emphasised that safety is a concern in every contemporary cars.
Our department has a collection of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and those vehicles account for a very small number.
However regardless of if you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our staff is not to plug Ministry of Defence technology into their car, not to have conversations at a classified level in any vehicle, due to the increasing risks of surveillance that are present in all vehicle, to restrict those confidential conversations in protected areas. This is a prudent and sensible thing for everyone concerned about security.
When it was put to him that it would be wise for the MoD to stop using all Chinese vehicles, the minister responded: That is exactly what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Broader Defence Context
The announcement comes as reports from Scandinavian countries have alerted the United Kingdom to the presence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese-made buses, which could allow China to switch off public transport and bring chaos to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russia spy ship has been directing laser beams at RAF pilots, described as a “highly dangerous” act by government representatives.
This wider security situation highlights the importance of robust protocols and caution in all areas of government activities, from vehicle use to discussions practices.
