An defense official has revealed that the MoD is actively looking into the potential security risks associated with Chinese cars, and personnel have been advised to refrain from talking about classified information in all cars.
Security Guidance for Defence Staff
During a recent appearance on LBC, Luke Pollard addressed reports that MoD staff have been told not to discuss classified information while travelling in China-made cars.
He explained that the ministry is “examining” cars from China within its fleets, but emphasised that safety is a issue in every modern vehicles.
Our department has a collection of tens of thousands of cars in the MoD and Chinese ones account for a tiny fraction.
However 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, to avoid having discussions at a classified level in any kind of car, due to the increasing threats of surveillance that are present in all automobile, to restrict those confidential talks in protected areas. This is a wise and sensible thing for anyone concerned about safety.
After it was put to him that it would be wise for the ministry to stop using every Chinese vehicles, the minister responded: ‘That’s precisely what we are looking into at the present time.”
Broader Defence Background
This announcement follows reports from Norway and Denmark have warned the UK to the presence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese buses, which could enable China to switch off public transport and bring chaos to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russian spy ship was reportedly directing laser beams at Royal Air Force aircrew, described as a “highly dangerous” act by government representatives.
The broader security environment highlights the significance of strong measures and caution in all areas of official operations, including transport usage to discussions practices.
