A defence official has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is currently investigating the potential security risks associated with Chinese cars, while staff have been told to avoid discussing secret information in any cars.
Safety Guidance for Defence Staff
In a recently aired interview on a radio station, Luke Pollard addressed claims that Ministry of Defence officials have been instructed not to talk about secret information while riding in Chinese vehicles.
He explained that the ministry is “investigating” cars from China within its vehicle pools, however noted that safety is a issue in all modern vehicles.
We have a fleet of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones represent a very small number.
But whether you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our people is to avoid connecting MoD devices into their car, to avoid having discussions at a classified classification in any vehicle, because of the growing threats of surveillance that exist in every single vehicle, to only have those secret talks in secure locations. This is a prudent and reasonable thing for everyone worried about security.
When it was suggested that it would be wise for the ministry to cease using all Chinese vehicles, the minister responded: That is precisely what we are looking into at the present time.”
Wider Defence Context
The revelation follows reports from Scandinavian countries have warned the UK to the presence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made electric buses, which could enable China to disable buses and bring chaos to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russia spy ship has been directing lasers at Royal Air Force aircrew, described as a “extremely risky” act by defence officials.
This broader security environment underscores the importance of robust protocols and caution in every areas of government operations, from vehicle use to discussions habits.
