A defense minister has confirmed that the MoD is actively investigating the potential security risks associated with Chinese-made vehicles, while staff have been told to avoid discussing secret information in all cars.
Security Guidance for Defence Personnel
In a recently aired interview on LBC, Luke Pollard commented on claims that MoD officials have been told not to talk about classified information while travelling in China-made vehicles.
He explained that the MoD is “looking into” cars from China within its vehicle pools, however emphasised that safety is a issue in every contemporary cars.
We have a fleet of tens of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles account for a very small number.
However whether you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our staff is not to plug Ministry of Defence devices into their car, to avoid having discussions at a secret level in any vehicle, because of the growing risks of surveillance that exist in all automobile, to only have those secret talks in secure locations. This is a wise and sensible thing for anyone worried about safety.
After it was suggested that it would be wise for the ministry to cease using all cars from China, the minister replied: ‘That’s precisely what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Wider Defence Context
This announcement comes as claims from Scandinavian countries have alerted the UK to the existence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese buses, which could allow the Chinese government to switch off buses and bring chaos to public transit.
Additionally, a Russia intelligence vessel was reportedly shining lasers at Royal Air Force pilots, labeled a “highly dangerous” act by government representatives.
The broader security situation highlights the importance of robust protocols and vigilance in every areas of government operations, including vehicle usage to communication habits.
