A defence minister has stated that the MoD is currently investigating the possible threats associated with Chinese cars, while personnel have been told to avoid talking about classified information in all cars.
Security Advice for MoD Staff
During a recently aired appearance on LBC, Luke Pollard addressed claims that Ministry of Defence officials have been instructed not to discuss secret material while travelling in Chinese vehicles.
He explained that the MoD is “looking into” cars from China within its fleets, but emphasised that security is a concern 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.
However regardless of if you’re driving a Chinese car or a car from another country, our instruction to our staff is not to plug Ministry of Defence technology into their car, to avoid having discussions at a classified classification in any kind of car, due to the increasing risks of eavesdropping that are present in all vehicle, to restrict those secret talks in secure locations. This is a wise and reasonable thing for anyone worried about safety.
When it was suggested that it would be prudent for the MoD to cease using all cars from China, the minister replied: ‘That’s exactly what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Broader Security Context
This announcement follows reports from Scandinavian countries have warned the United Kingdom to the presence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese buses, which could allow the Chinese government to switch off public transport and bring disruption to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russia spy ship was reportedly shining laser beams at RAF pilots, described as a “highly dangerous” action by government representatives.
This wider defence environment underscores the significance of robust protocols and caution in all areas of government activities, including vehicle use to discussions practices.
