A defence official has revealed that the Ministry of Defence is actively investigating the possible security risks associated with Chinese-made cars, and staff have been advised to refrain from talking about secret information in any vehicles.
Security Advice for MoD Personnel
During a recently aired appearance on a radio station, Luke Pollard addressed claims that MoD staff have been told not to discuss secret material while travelling in China-made cars.
He explained that the ministry is “examining” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, however noted that security is a concern in every contemporary vehicles.
We have a fleet of tens of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones represent a tiny fraction.
However whether you’re driving a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our staff is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence devices into their car, to avoid having conversations at a classified level in any vehicle, because of the growing threats of surveillance that exist in every single vehicle, to restrict those secret talks in protected areas. That’s a prudent and sensible thing for everyone concerned about security.
After it was suggested that it would be wise for the ministry to cease using all Chinese vehicles, the minister responded: That is exactly what we are looking into at the present time.”
Broader Defence Background
The revelation comes as reports from Scandinavian countries have warned the UK to the presence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made buses, which could allow China to switch off buses and bring chaos to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russia spy ship was reportedly shining lasers at RAF aircrew, described as a “highly dangerous” act by defence officials.
The broader security environment highlights the importance of robust protocols and vigilance in every aspects of official activities, including transport use to discussions practices.
