An defence official has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is actively looking into the possible threats associated with Chinese vehicles, and staff have been instructed to avoid talking about secret information in all vehicles.
Security Advice for Defence Staff
In a recent interview on LBC, Luke Pollard addressed reports that Ministry of Defence officials have been instructed not to discuss classified information while travelling in Chinese cars.
He explained that the ministry is “looking into” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, however emphasised that safety is a concern in all modern vehicles.
Our department has a collection of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles account for a tiny fraction.
But regardless of if you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a car from another country, our instruction to our staff is not to plug Ministry of Defence devices into their car, to avoid having conversations at a secret classification in any kind of car, due to the growing risks of surveillance that are present in all automobile, to restrict those confidential conversations in secure locations. That’s a wise and reasonable thing for anyone worried about security.
When it was suggested that it would be prudent for the ministry to cease using every cars from China, the minister responded: ‘That’s precisely what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Broader Defence Context
The revelation follows claims from Norway and Denmark have warned the UK to the existence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese-made electric buses, which could enable the Chinese government to switch off buses and bring disruption to public transit.
Additionally, a Russia intelligence vessel has been directing laser beams at Royal Air Force pilots, labeled a “highly dangerous” action by defence officials.
This wider defence environment underscores the significance of strong protocols and caution in every aspects of government activities, including transport use to discussions practices.
