A defense official has stated that the Ministry of Defence is actively looking into the potential threats associated with Chinese cars, and staff have been told to avoid talking about secret information in all cars.
Safety Guidance for Defence Personnel
During a recent appearance on LBC, Luke Pollard addressed claims that MoD officials have been instructed not to talk about secret information while riding in Chinese cars.
The minister explained that the ministry is “looking into” cars from China within its vehicle pools, but emphasised that safety is a issue in every modern vehicles.
We have a fleet of tens of thousands of cars in the MoD and those vehicles account for a very small number.
But regardless of if you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our people is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence devices into their car, not to have discussions at a classified level in any car, because of the growing threats of surveillance that exist in every single vehicle, to restrict those confidential conversations in secure locations. That’s a wise and sensible thing for anyone worried about security.
After it was put to him that it would be prudent for the ministry to cease using all Chinese vehicles, the minister replied: That is exactly what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Wider Defence Background
This revelation follows claims from Norway and Denmark have warned the United Kingdom to the presence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese-made electric buses, which could enable the Chinese government to disable buses and bring disruption to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russia intelligence vessel was reportedly shining laser beams at Royal Air Force aircrew, labeled a “extremely risky” act by government representatives.
The wider defence environment underscores the importance of robust protocols and caution in all aspects of official activities, including vehicle use to discussions practices.
