A defense minister has stated that the Ministry of Defence is actively investigating the potential threats associated with Chinese cars, and personnel have been instructed to refrain from discussing classified matters in any vehicles.
Safety Guidance for MoD Personnel
In a recently aired interview on LBC, Luke Pollard commented on claims that Ministry of Defence officials have been instructed not to discuss classified material while riding in Chinese vehicles.
He said that the ministry is “looking into” cars from China within its vehicle pools, however stressed that safety is a issue in all contemporary vehicles.
Our department has a collection of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles represent a tiny fraction.
However regardless of if you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a car from another country, what we’ve asked our staff is not to plug Ministry of Defence technology into their vehicle, not to have conversations at a classified level in any kind of car, due to the increasing threats of eavesdropping that exist in every single automobile, to only have those secret conversations in protected areas. This is a wise and sensible thing for everyone concerned about security.
After it was put to him that it would be prudent for the MoD to stop using all Chinese vehicles, Pollard responded: ‘That’s exactly what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Broader Defence Context
The announcement comes as reports from Norway and Denmark have warned the UK to the presence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese electric buses, which could allow the Chinese government to disable public transport and bring disruption to public transit.
Additionally, a Russia intelligence vessel was reportedly directing laser beams at RAF pilots, described as a “highly dangerous” action by defence officials.
This broader defence environment underscores the significance of strong measures and caution in all areas of official operations, including transport use to discussions habits.