A defense minister has revealed that the MoD is actively investigating the potential threats posed by Chinese vehicles, while staff have been instructed to refrain from talking about secret information in all cars.
Security Advice for Defence Personnel
In a recently aired appearance on LBC, Luke Pollard commented on claims that Ministry of Defence officials have been told not to talk about classified material while travelling in Chinese cars.
He stated that the MoD is “looking into” cars from China within its fleets, however emphasised that security is a concern in all contemporary cars.
We have a fleet of tens of thousands of vehicles 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, what we’ve asked our people is not to plug Ministry of Defence technology into their vehicle, to avoid having discussions at a classified classification in any car, because of the growing risks of eavesdropping that exist in every single vehicle, to restrict those secret conversations in secure locations. This is a prudent and sensible thing for anyone concerned about safety.
When it was suggested that it would be wise for the ministry to cease using all cars from China, Pollard responded: That is precisely what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Wider Security Context
The announcement follows reports from Scandinavian countries have alerted the UK to the presence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese electric buses, which could enable China to switch off buses and bring disruption to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russian spy ship has been shining laser beams at RAF aircrew, described as a “highly dangerous” act by government representatives.
The wider defence environment underscores the importance of strong measures and caution in all areas of government operations, including vehicle usage to communication habits.
