A defense minister has revealed that the MoD is actively examining the possible security risks posed by Chinese vehicles, while staff have been advised to avoid discussing secret matters in all cars.
Safety Guidance for Defence Staff
In a recently aired appearance on LBC, a defence minister addressed reports that Ministry of Defence staff have been instructed not to talk about secret information while travelling in China-made vehicles.
He said that the MoD is “investigating” cars from China within its vehicle pools, however noted that security is a issue in every contemporary vehicles.
We have a fleet of tens of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones represent a tiny fraction.
But regardless of if you’re driving a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our staff is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence technology into their vehicle, to avoid having discussions at a classified level in any car, due to the growing risks of surveillance that are present in all automobile, to only have those secret conversations in protected areas. That’s a prudent and sensible thing for everyone worried about safety.
After it was suggested that it would be wise for the ministry to cease using every cars from China, Pollard replied: ‘That’s exactly what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Wider Defence Background
The announcement follows reports from Norway and Denmark have warned the United Kingdom to the existence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese electric buses, which could allow China to switch off public transport and cause disruption to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russian spy ship has been shining lasers at RAF aircrew, described as a “extremely risky” action by defence officials.
This broader defence environment underscores the importance of robust protocols and caution in every areas of government operations, from transport use to discussions practices.
