A defence minister has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is currently investigating the potential security risks associated with Chinese cars, while personnel have been advised to refrain from discussing secret matters in all vehicles.
Safety Advice for Defence Personnel
In a recent appearance on a radio station, Luke Pollard commented on claims that Ministry of Defence staff have been instructed not to talk about secret material while travelling in China-made vehicles.
The minister said that the MoD is “investigating” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, but noted that security is a concern in all modern cars.
Our department has a fleet of thousands of cars in the MoD and those vehicles represent a very small number.
However regardless of if you’re driving a vehicle from China or a car from another country, our instruction to our people is not to plug Ministry of Defence devices into their car, to avoid having discussions at a classified level in any vehicle, due to the growing threats of surveillance that are present in all automobile, to restrict those confidential talks in secure locations. This is a wise and reasonable thing for anyone worried about safety.
When it was suggested that it would be wise for the ministry to cease using every cars from China, the minister replied: ‘That’s exactly what we are looking into at the moment.”
Wider Defence Context
This revelation follows reports from Norway and Denmark have warned the United Kingdom to the presence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made electric buses, which could allow China to disable public transport and cause disruption to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russia spy ship was reportedly directing laser beams at Royal Air Force aircrew, described as a “extremely risky” act by defence officials.
This broader defence situation underscores the significance of strong protocols and caution in all aspects of government operations, including transport use to communication practices.
