A defence minister has stated that the MoD is currently looking into the potential threats posed by Chinese vehicles, while staff have been instructed to avoid discussing classified matters in all cars.
Security Guidance for Defence Staff
In a recently aired appearance on LBC, Luke Pollard addressed claims that Ministry of Defence officials have been told not to discuss secret information while travelling in China-made vehicles.
The minister said that the MoD is “investigating” cars from China within its fleets, however noted that security is a issue in every modern cars.
We have 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 non-Chinese car, our instruction to our people is not to plug MoD devices into their vehicle, not to have conversations at a secret level in any kind of car, because of the increasing threats of surveillance that exist in every single automobile, to restrict those confidential talks in protected areas. That’s a wise and reasonable thing for everyone worried about safety.
After it was put to him that it would be wise for the MoD to stop using all cars from China, Pollard replied: ‘That’s precisely what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Broader Security Context
This revelation follows reports from Scandinavian countries have warned the UK to the presence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese electric buses, which could enable the Chinese government to disable buses and cause chaos to public transit.
Additionally, a Russia intelligence vessel was reportedly shining lasers at Royal Air Force pilots, described as a “extremely risky” act by defence officials.
The wider defence situation underscores the importance of robust measures and vigilance in every areas of official operations, from vehicle use to communication practices.
