A defence official has revealed that the Ministry of Defence is actively investigating the potential security risks posed by Chinese cars, and personnel have been advised to refrain from talking about classified matters in all vehicles.
Safety Advice for MoD Personnel
In a recent interview on LBC, Luke Pollard commented on claims that MoD staff have been told not to talk about secret information while riding in China-made cars.
The minister stated that the MoD is “investigating” cars from China within its fleets, but stressed that security is a issue in all modern cars.
Our department has a fleet of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and Chinese ones account for a very small number.
However regardless of if you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a car from another country, our instruction to our people is not to plug Ministry of Defence devices into their vehicle, not to have conversations at a classified level in any car, because of the increasing risks of surveillance that are present in every single vehicle, to only have those confidential talks in protected areas. This is a wise and sensible thing for everyone concerned about safety.
After it was suggested that it would be wise for the ministry to cease using all Chinese vehicles, Pollard replied: That is exactly what we are looking into at the present time.”
Broader Defence Background
The announcement comes as claims from Scandinavian countries have alerted the United Kingdom to the existence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese buses, which could allow China to disable public transport and cause chaos to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russian spy ship was reportedly shining lasers at RAF pilots, labeled a “extremely risky” act by government representatives.
The wider defence situation highlights the importance of robust measures and caution in all areas of government operations, from vehicle usage to discussions practices.
