A defence official has confirmed that the MoD is currently investigating the possible security risks posed by Chinese cars, and staff have been advised to refrain from talking about classified information in all vehicles.
Safety Guidance for Defence Staff
In a recently aired interview on LBC, Luke Pollard addressed reports that MoD staff have been told not to talk about secret material while riding in China-made cars.
He stated that the ministry is “looking into” cars from China within its vehicle pools, however noted that security is a issue in all modern vehicles.
We have a collection of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones represent a tiny fraction.
However whether you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our staff is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence technology into their car, not to have conversations at a secret classification in any vehicle, because of the increasing risks of surveillance that exist in every single automobile, to restrict those secret talks in secure locations. This is a prudent and reasonable thing for anyone concerned about security.
After it was suggested that it would be prudent for the MoD to stop using every cars from China, the minister responded: ‘That’s precisely what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Wider Security Context
The announcement follows claims from Scandinavian countries have alerted the United Kingdom to the existence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese-made buses, which could allow the Chinese government to disable public transport and bring disruption to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russia intelligence vessel was reportedly directing lasers at RAF aircrew, labeled a “highly dangerous” act by defence officials.
The wider defence situation underscores the importance of strong measures and caution in every aspects of government operations, from transport usage to discussions practices.
