An defense official has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is currently investigating the potential threats associated with Chinese-made cars, and staff have been advised to avoid talking about classified matters in all cars.
Security Guidance for Defence Staff
During a recent interview on LBC, Luke Pollard addressed reports that Ministry of Defence officials have been instructed not to talk about classified material while riding in Chinese vehicles.
The minister stated that the ministry is “examining” cars from China within its vehicle pools, however emphasised that safety is a issue in every contemporary cars.
Our department has a fleet of thousands of cars in the MoD and Chinese ones represent a very small number.
However regardless of if you’re driving a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our people is not to plug Ministry of Defence devices into their vehicle, not to have discussions at a classified level in any car, due to the growing threats of surveillance that are present in every single automobile, to restrict those confidential conversations in secure locations. That’s a prudent and reasonable thing for everyone concerned about security.
When it was suggested that it would be prudent for the ministry to stop using all Chinese vehicles, Pollard responded: That is exactly what we are looking into at the present time.”
Wider Security Context
The revelation comes as reports from Scandinavian countries have alerted the UK to the presence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese-made electric buses, which could enable China to disable public transport and cause disruption to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russia spy ship was reportedly shining laser beams at Royal Air Force aircrew, described as a “highly dangerous” action by defence officials.
This broader defence situation underscores the importance of strong protocols and vigilance in every areas of government operations, from transport usage to discussions habits.
