A defence official has stated that the Ministry of Defence is currently looking into the possible security risks associated with Chinese-made cars, and staff have been told to avoid talking about classified matters in any cars.
Security Guidance for Defence Staff
During a recently aired appearance on LBC, Luke Pollard addressed claims that MoD staff have been instructed not to discuss classified material while riding in China-made vehicles.
The minister stated that the MoD is “looking into” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, however emphasised that safety is a issue in every contemporary cars.
Our department has a collection of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles account for a tiny fraction.
However regardless of if you’re driving a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our staff is not to plug MoD devices into their car, not to have conversations at a secret classification in any kind of car, due to the growing risks of surveillance that exist in every single vehicle, to only have those secret talks in secure locations. That’s a prudent and sensible thing for everyone concerned about safety.
After it was put to him that it would be wise for the ministry to cease using every Chinese vehicles, Pollard responded: That is exactly what we are looking into at the present time.”
Wider Defence Context
The announcement follows reports from Norway and Denmark have alerted the UK to the presence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese electric buses, which could enable China to disable buses and cause disruption to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russian intelligence vessel has been shining laser beams at RAF pilots, described as a “highly dangerous” action by defence officials.
The broader security environment underscores the significance of robust protocols and caution in every areas of official operations, from transport use to discussions habits.
