A defence minister has confirmed that the MoD is actively looking into the possible threats posed by Chinese-made vehicles, and staff have been instructed to avoid talking about secret information in any cars.
Safety Guidance for Defence Personnel
In a recent appearance on LBC, Luke Pollard addressed claims that Ministry of Defence staff have been instructed not to talk about secret information while riding in China-made vehicles.
He explained that the ministry is “investigating” Chinese vehicles within its fleets, but emphasised that safety is a issue in all modern vehicles.
Our department has a collection of thousands of cars in the MoD and Chinese ones account for a very small number.
However regardless of if you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our staff is not to plug Ministry of Defence devices into their vehicle, not to have discussions at a classified level in any vehicle, due to the growing risks of eavesdropping that exist in all automobile, to only have those confidential talks in protected areas. This is a prudent and reasonable thing for everyone worried about security.
After it was suggested that it would be wise for the ministry to stop using every cars from China, Pollard responded: ‘That’s precisely what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Broader Defence Background
The announcement follows reports from Scandinavian countries have warned the UK to the presence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese electric buses, which could enable the Chinese government to switch off buses and bring chaos to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russia spy ship was reportedly shining lasers at Royal Air Force aircrew, described as a “highly dangerous” act by defence officials.
The broader security situation underscores the importance of robust measures and caution in every areas of government activities, from vehicle usage to discussions practices.
