A defence minister has stated that the MoD is actively examining the possible threats posed by Chinese vehicles, and personnel have been instructed to refrain from discussing classified matters in any cars.
Security Guidance for Defence Staff
During a recent interview on LBC, Luke Pollard addressed claims that MoD officials have been told not to discuss secret information while travelling in Chinese vehicles.
He said that the MoD is “examining” Chinese vehicles within its fleets, but stressed that safety is a concern in every contemporary cars.
Our department has a fleet of tens of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones account for a very small number.
But regardless of if you’re traveling in 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 conversations at a classified level in any kind of vehicle, due to the growing risks of eavesdropping that are present in all vehicle, to restrict those confidential talks in protected areas. This is a wise and reasonable thing for anyone worried about security.
After it was suggested that it would be wise for the MoD to cease using all cars from China, the minister replied: ‘That’s exactly what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Wider Defence Context
The revelation comes as claims from Scandinavian countries have alerted the UK to the presence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made electric buses, which could enable the Chinese government to disable buses and cause disruption to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russian spy ship was reportedly shining lasers at RAF aircrew, described as a “extremely risky” action by government representatives.
The wider security environment highlights the importance of robust protocols and caution in all aspects of official operations, from transport usage to discussions habits.
