A defense official has revealed that the MoD is actively examining the possible security risks associated with Chinese-made cars, while personnel have been told to refrain from discussing secret matters in all vehicles.
Security Advice for MoD Staff
During a recently aired appearance on LBC, Luke Pollard addressed claims that MoD officials have been told not to discuss secret information while riding in China-made vehicles.
The minister said that the MoD is “investigating” cars from China within its vehicle pools, but noted that safety is a concern in every contemporary cars.
Our department has a fleet of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones represent a tiny fraction.
But regardless of if you’re driving a vehicle from China or a car from another country, our instruction to our staff is not to plug Ministry of Defence devices into their vehicle, not to have discussions at a classified level in any vehicle, due to the growing threats of surveillance that are present in all vehicle, to only have those secret talks in protected areas. That’s a prudent and reasonable thing for anyone concerned about safety.
After it was suggested that it would be wise for the ministry to stop using every cars from China, the minister replied: That is exactly what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Broader Security Context
The announcement follows claims from Scandinavian countries have alerted the UK to the existence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made electric buses, which could allow the Chinese government to disable public transport and cause chaos to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russian intelligence vessel was reportedly directing laser beams at Royal Air Force aircrew, labeled a “extremely risky” action by government representatives.
This broader defence situation underscores the importance of strong protocols and caution in all areas of official activities, from transport usage to discussions practices.
