A defence official has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is actively looking into the possible security risks associated with Chinese-made cars, while personnel have been instructed to refrain from discussing classified matters in any cars.
Security Guidance for Defence Personnel
In a recent appearance on a radio station, Luke Pollard commented on reports that MoD staff have been told not to talk about classified information while travelling in Chinese cars.
He stated that the ministry is “investigating” cars from China within its vehicle pools, but noted that security is a issue in every modern cars.
Our department has a collection of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and those vehicles represent a tiny fraction.
However regardless of if you’re driving a vehicle from China or a car from another country, our instruction to our people is to avoid connecting MoD devices into their car, to avoid having conversations at a classified level in any car, due to the growing threats of surveillance that are present in every single automobile, to only have those confidential talks in protected areas. That’s a prudent and sensible thing for anyone worried about safety.
After it was suggested that it would be wise for the ministry to stop using every cars from China, the minister responded: That is precisely what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Broader Defence Background
The revelation follows claims from Norway and Denmark have warned the UK to the presence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese buses, which could enable the Chinese government to disable public transport and bring disruption to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russian spy ship was reportedly directing lasers at Royal Air Force pilots, described as a “extremely risky” action by defence officials.
This wider security environment underscores the importance of strong measures and vigilance in every areas of government operations, from transport usage to discussions practices.
