A defence official has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is currently looking into the possible threats associated with Chinese cars, and staff have been told to avoid talking about classified matters in any vehicles.
Security Advice for MoD Staff
During a recent interview on a radio station, Luke Pollard commented on reports that MoD staff have been instructed not to talk about secret information while travelling in China-made vehicles.
He said that the ministry is “investigating” cars from China within its vehicle pools, however emphasised that safety is a issue in all contemporary vehicles.
We have a collection of tens of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and those vehicles account for a tiny fraction.
However whether you’re driving a Chinese car or a car from another country, our instruction to our staff is to avoid connecting MoD devices into their car, to avoid having conversations at a secret level in any kind of vehicle, because of the growing threats of eavesdropping that are present in every single vehicle, to only have those confidential conversations in protected areas. That’s a wise and reasonable thing for everyone concerned about safety.
After it was put to him that it would be prudent for the MoD to cease using all Chinese vehicles, Pollard responded: ‘That’s precisely what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Wider Defence Context
The announcement follows claims from Scandinavian countries have alerted the United Kingdom to the existence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese electric buses, which could enable China to disable public transport and cause disruption to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russian intelligence vessel was reportedly directing lasers at Royal Air Force pilots, described as a “highly dangerous” action by defence officials.
This broader security environment underscores the importance of robust protocols and caution in all areas of official operations, including vehicle use to discussions practices.
