A defence official has revealed that the Ministry of Defence is actively examining the possible threats associated with Chinese-made vehicles, and personnel have been instructed to refrain from discussing secret information in all cars.
Security Advice for MoD Staff
In a recently aired interview on LBC, Luke Pollard commented on claims that Ministry of Defence officials have been instructed not to discuss secret information while riding in China-made cars.
The minister explained that the MoD is “looking into” Chinese vehicles within its fleets, but noted that security is a issue in all modern cars.
We have a fleet of tens of thousands of cars in the MoD and those vehicles represent a tiny fraction.
However regardless of if you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our people is not to plug MoD technology into their vehicle, to avoid having discussions at a secret level in any kind of car, because of the increasing risks of surveillance that are present in all automobile, to only have those secret conversations in secure locations. This is a prudent and reasonable thing for everyone concerned about safety.
After it was put to him that it would be prudent for the ministry to cease using all Chinese vehicles, the minister replied: ‘That’s precisely what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Broader Defence Context
This revelation comes as reports from Scandinavian countries have warned the UK to the presence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese buses, which could enable the Chinese government to switch off public transport and bring chaos to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russian spy ship has been shining lasers at Royal Air Force pilots, labeled a “highly dangerous” action by government representatives.
The wider security environment underscores the importance of robust protocols and caution in every aspects of government activities, including transport use to discussions practices.
