A defense official has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is actively investigating the possible security risks associated with Chinese cars, and staff have been told to avoid talking about classified matters in any vehicles.
Safety Advice for Defence Personnel
During a recently aired interview on LBC, Luke Pollard addressed claims that MoD officials have been instructed not to discuss classified information while riding in China-made cars.
He said that the ministry is “looking into” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, but stressed that safety is a concern in every modern vehicles.
We have a fleet of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles represent a very small number.
But regardless of if you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our staff is to avoid connecting MoD devices into their car, to avoid having discussions at a secret level in any kind of vehicle, due to the increasing threats of surveillance that exist in every single vehicle, to restrict those secret talks in protected areas. That’s a prudent and reasonable thing for everyone worried about safety.
When it was suggested that it would be prudent for the MoD to cease using every Chinese vehicles, Pollard responded: ‘That’s exactly what we are looking into at the moment.”
Wider Security Background
The announcement follows reports from Norway and Denmark have alerted the UK to the presence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese electric buses, which could allow China to disable public transport and bring disruption to public transit.
Additionally, a Russian intelligence vessel was reportedly directing lasers at Royal Air Force pilots, labeled a “highly dangerous” act by government representatives.
The broader defence environment highlights the importance of robust protocols and caution in every aspects of official operations, including transport usage to discussions habits.