A defense minister has confirmed that the MoD is actively investigating the potential security risks posed by Chinese vehicles, while staff have been told to refrain from talking about classified matters in all cars.
Security Advice for Defence Personnel
In a recently aired appearance on LBC, Luke Pollard addressed claims that Ministry of Defence officials have been instructed not to talk about classified material while travelling in China-made vehicles.
The minister stated that the ministry is “investigating” cars from China within its vehicle pools, but stressed that security is a issue in all contemporary vehicles.
Our department has a collection of tens of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones represent a very small number.
But whether you’re driving a Chinese car or a car from another country, our instruction to our staff is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence technology into their car, to avoid having discussions at a secret level in any kind of car, due to the increasing threats of surveillance that exist in every single vehicle, to restrict those confidential conversations in protected areas. This is a wise and sensible thing for anyone worried about security.
When it was suggested that it would be prudent for the ministry to cease using all cars from China, the minister replied: That is exactly what we are looking into at the present time.”
Wider Defence Background
The revelation comes as reports from Norway and Denmark have warned the United Kingdom to the existence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made electric buses, which could enable the Chinese government to switch off buses and cause chaos to public transit.
Additionally, a Russia spy ship was reportedly directing lasers at Royal Air Force pilots, labeled a “extremely risky” action by defence officials.
This broader defence situation underscores the importance of robust protocols and caution in all aspects of government operations, including transport use to discussions practices.
