An defense official has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is currently looking into the potential threats posed by Chinese-made vehicles, while staff have been told to avoid talking about classified information in any cars.
Safety Guidance for Defence Personnel
In a recently aired interview on LBC, a defence minister addressed claims that Ministry of Defence staff have been instructed not to discuss secret information while travelling in Chinese vehicles.
The minister stated that the MoD is “examining” cars from China within its vehicle pools, however stressed that security is a issue in every modern vehicles.
Our department has a fleet of tens of thousands of cars in the MoD and those vehicles represent a very small number.
However regardless of if you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our staff is not to plug MoD technology into their car, to avoid having conversations at a classified level in any kind of car, because of the growing risks of surveillance that are present in every single vehicle, to only have those secret conversations in protected areas. This is a wise and sensible thing for anyone concerned about security.
When it was put to him that it would be wise for the MoD to stop using every cars from China, Pollard replied: That is exactly what we are looking into at the moment.”
Broader Defence Background
This revelation comes as claims from Norway and Denmark have alerted the UK to the existence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese-made buses, which could allow the Chinese government to disable public transport and cause disruption to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russian intelligence vessel has been directing laser beams at RAF pilots, labeled a “extremely risky” act by government representatives.
The broader security environment underscores the significance of strong measures and caution in all areas of official activities, from transport usage to communication habits.
