A defence minister has revealed that the Ministry of Defence is actively looking into the potential security risks posed by Chinese vehicles, and personnel have been advised to avoid talking about classified information in any vehicles.
Safety Guidance for MoD Personnel
During a recently aired appearance on LBC, Luke Pollard commented on reports that Ministry of Defence staff have been told not to talk about classified material while travelling in Chinese vehicles.
He said that the ministry is “looking into” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, however stressed that safety is a concern in every modern cars.
Our department has a collection of tens of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones represent a tiny fraction.
However whether you’re driving a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our staff is not to plug Ministry of Defence devices into their car, to avoid having discussions at a classified classification in any vehicle, because of the increasing risks of eavesdropping that are present in every single automobile, to only have those confidential conversations in protected areas. This is a prudent and sensible thing for everyone worried about safety.
When it was put to him that it would be prudent for the ministry to cease using all Chinese vehicles, the minister replied: That is exactly what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Broader Security Background
This announcement follows claims from Scandinavian countries have warned the United Kingdom to the presence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese-made buses, which could allow the Chinese government to switch off buses and bring chaos to public transit.
Additionally, a Russian spy ship was reportedly shining laser beams at RAF pilots, described as a “highly dangerous” action by defence officials.
This wider defence environment underscores the importance of robust protocols and vigilance in all aspects of government activities, including transport usage to communication habits.
