An defence official has revealed that the Ministry of Defence is currently looking into the possible threats associated with Chinese cars, and staff have been told to refrain from talking about classified information in any vehicles.
Safety Guidance for Defence Personnel
During a recently aired interview on LBC, Luke Pollard addressed reports that Ministry of Defence officials have been told not to talk about secret information while travelling in Chinese cars.
He explained that the MoD is “looking into” cars from China within its vehicle pools, however emphasised that security is a issue in every contemporary vehicles.
Our department has a fleet of tens of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones account for a tiny fraction.
But regardless of if you’re driving a Chinese car or a car from another country, our instruction to our people is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence devices into their vehicle, to avoid having discussions at a secret classification in any car, because of the increasing threats of eavesdropping that exist in every single automobile, to only have those confidential conversations in secure locations. That’s a wise and sensible thing for anyone concerned about security.
After it was put to him that it would be prudent for the MoD to cease using all Chinese vehicles, the minister replied: ‘That’s exactly what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Wider Defence Context
This revelation follows reports from Norway and Denmark have warned the UK to the existence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made buses, which could enable China to disable buses and bring chaos to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russian intelligence vessel was reportedly shining lasers at Royal Air Force aircrew, described as a “highly dangerous” action by government representatives.
The broader defence environment underscores the significance of strong protocols and vigilance in all aspects of government operations, from vehicle usage to discussions practices.
