A defence official has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is actively looking into the possible threats associated with Chinese vehicles, and staff have been instructed to refrain from discussing classified information in any cars.
Safety Advice for MoD Staff
In a recently aired appearance on a radio station, Luke Pollard addressed claims that MoD officials have been instructed not to talk about secret material while riding in Chinese vehicles.
The minister stated that the MoD is “looking into” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, but noted that safety is a issue in every modern vehicles.
Our department has a collection of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones represent a tiny fraction.
However regardless of if you’re driving a Chinese car or a car from another country, our instruction to our people is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence devices into their car, not to have conversations at a classified level in any kind of car, because of the increasing threats of eavesdropping that exist in every single vehicle, to only have those secret talks in protected areas. That’s a prudent and reasonable thing for anyone worried about safety.
After it was suggested that it would be prudent for the MoD to stop using all cars from China, the minister responded: ‘That’s exactly what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Broader Defence Background
This revelation comes as reports from Scandinavian countries have warned the UK to the presence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese electric buses, which could allow China to switch off public transport and cause chaos to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russian intelligence vessel was reportedly shining laser beams at RAF aircrew, described as a “highly dangerous” action by government representatives.
This wider defence situation highlights the importance of strong protocols and caution in all aspects of government operations, including vehicle use to discussions habits.
