A defence official has confirmed that the MoD is actively examining the possible security risks posed by Chinese cars, while staff have been told to avoid talking about secret matters in any cars.
Security Guidance for MoD Staff
During a recently aired interview on LBC, Luke Pollard addressed reports that Ministry of Defence officials have been told not to discuss secret information while travelling in Chinese cars.
He said that the ministry is “investigating” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, however emphasised that security is a issue in every contemporary vehicles.
Our department has a collection of tens of thousands of cars in the MoD and Chinese ones account for a tiny fraction.
However whether you’re driving a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our people is to avoid connecting MoD technology into their vehicle, to avoid having discussions at a secret classification in any kind of car, because of the growing threats of surveillance that exist in all vehicle, to only have those confidential conversations in secure locations. That’s a prudent and sensible thing for anyone worried about safety.
After it was put to him that it would be prudent for the MoD to stop using every cars from China, the minister replied: ‘That’s exactly what we are looking into at the moment.”
Broader Security Context
This revelation comes as claims from Scandinavian countries have alerted the UK to the existence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made buses, which could enable the Chinese government to disable buses and bring chaos to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russian intelligence vessel has been directing laser beams at Royal Air Force pilots, described as a “highly dangerous” action by government representatives.
This broader defence environment highlights the importance of robust measures and vigilance in all areas of official activities, from transport usage to communication habits.
