A defense official has confirmed that the MoD is actively examining the potential security risks posed by Chinese cars, while staff have been instructed to refrain from talking about classified information in any cars.
Safety Advice for Defence Staff
During a recently aired interview on LBC, Luke Pollard commented on reports that Ministry of Defence officials have been told not to discuss classified material while travelling in China-made cars.
He explained that the MoD is “investigating” cars from China within its vehicle pools, but noted that safety is a issue in all modern vehicles.
We have a fleet of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles represent a very small number.
However regardless of if you’re driving a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our staff is not to plug MoD devices into their vehicle, not to have discussions at a classified level in any car, because of the increasing threats of surveillance that exist in all vehicle, to restrict those secret conversations in protected areas. This is a wise and reasonable thing for anyone concerned about safety.
After it was suggested that it would be prudent for the ministry to stop using every cars from China, the minister replied: ‘That’s exactly what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Wider Security Context
This announcement comes as reports from Scandinavian countries have alerted the UK to the existence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made electric buses, which could enable the Chinese government to disable public transport and bring disruption to public transit.
Additionally, a Russia intelligence vessel has been shining laser beams at RAF aircrew, described as a “extremely risky” action by government representatives.
This broader security environment highlights the importance of strong protocols and vigilance in all areas of official activities, including transport use to communication habits.
