An defence official has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is actively looking into the possible security risks associated with Chinese-made cars, while staff have been advised to refrain from talking about secret matters in any cars.
Safety Advice for MoD Personnel
In a recent appearance on a radio station, Luke Pollard commented on claims that MoD staff have been instructed not to talk about secret information while riding in Chinese vehicles.
He explained that the MoD is “examining” cars from China within its vehicle pools, however stressed that security is a concern in all modern cars.
Our department has a collection of tens of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones account for a tiny fraction.
But whether you’re driving a Chinese car or a car from another country, our instruction to our staff is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence devices into their car, not to have discussions at a classified level in any vehicle, due to the increasing threats of eavesdropping that are present in every single automobile, to only have those confidential talks in secure locations. That’s a wise and reasonable thing for everyone concerned about safety.
When it was put to him that it would be wise for the ministry to stop using all cars from China, Pollard responded: That is precisely what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Broader Security Context
This announcement comes as claims from Scandinavian countries have alerted the United Kingdom to the presence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made electric buses, which could enable the Chinese government to switch off buses and bring chaos to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russia spy ship has been shining laser beams at Royal Air Force aircrew, described as a “highly dangerous” act by defence officials.
This wider defence situation highlights the importance of robust measures and vigilance in all areas of official operations, including transport use to communication practices.
