A defense minister has stated that the Ministry of Defence is actively looking into the potential threats posed by Chinese cars, while staff have been instructed to avoid discussing secret matters in all cars.
Safety Advice for Defence Personnel
In a recent interview on LBC, Luke Pollard addressed claims that Ministry of Defence staff have been instructed not to talk about secret material while riding in China-made cars.
He said that the ministry is “investigating” cars from China within its vehicle pools, but emphasised that security is a concern in all modern vehicles.
Our department has a collection of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and those vehicles account for a very small number.
However regardless of if you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our staff is not to plug MoD technology into their vehicle, not to have conversations at a classified classification in any kind of car, due to the growing risks of surveillance that are present in every single automobile, to restrict those secret conversations in secure locations. That’s a wise and reasonable thing for everyone worried about security.
When it was put to him that it would be wise for the MoD to stop using all Chinese vehicles, the minister responded: ‘That’s exactly what we are looking into at the present time.”
Broader Defence Background
The revelation comes as claims from Scandinavian countries have alerted the United Kingdom to the existence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese buses, which could enable China to disable public transport and cause chaos to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russia intelligence vessel has been shining laser beams at RAF pilots, labeled a “extremely risky” act by defence officials.
This broader security environment highlights the importance of strong measures and vigilance in every areas of government activities, from vehicle use to discussions practices.
