A defence minister has confirmed that the MoD is currently investigating the possible threats posed by Chinese vehicles, and staff have been advised to avoid discussing secret matters in any cars.
Security Advice for Defence Personnel
In a recent appearance on a radio station, Luke Pollard commented on claims that Ministry of Defence staff have been instructed not to discuss classified material while travelling in Chinese cars.
The minister explained that the ministry is “examining” Chinese vehicles within its fleets, but emphasised that safety is a concern in every contemporary vehicles.
We have a collection of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones account for a tiny fraction.
But regardless of if you’re driving a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our people is not to plug MoD devices into their vehicle, not to have conversations at a secret classification in any kind of car, due to the increasing risks of surveillance that are present in every single vehicle, to only have those secret talks in protected areas. This is a wise and sensible thing for everyone worried about safety.
After it was suggested that it would be prudent for the ministry to cease using all cars from China, the minister responded: That is exactly what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Wider Defence Background
The revelation comes as claims from Norway and Denmark have alerted the United Kingdom to the existence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made electric buses, which could allow China to disable buses and cause disruption to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russia spy ship was reportedly shining laser beams at RAF aircrew, described as a “highly dangerous” action by government representatives.
The wider defence situation underscores the importance of robust protocols and caution in every areas of government activities, including vehicle usage to discussions habits.
