A defense minister has revealed that the Ministry of Defence is currently investigating the potential security risks posed by Chinese cars, and personnel have been told to avoid discussing classified matters in all vehicles.
Safety Advice for MoD Personnel
During a recent appearance on LBC, Luke Pollard addressed reports that Ministry of Defence officials have been told not to talk about classified information while riding in Chinese vehicles.
He explained that the MoD is “looking into” cars from China within its fleets, but stressed that safety is a concern in every modern cars.
We have a fleet of tens of thousands of cars in the MoD and Chinese ones represent a very small number.
However regardless of if you’re driving a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our people is to avoid connecting MoD devices into their car, to avoid having discussions at a secret level in any kind of car, due to the increasing risks of eavesdropping that are present in all vehicle, to only have those secret talks in secure locations. This is a wise and sensible thing for anyone worried about safety.
When it was put to him that it would be prudent for the ministry to stop using all Chinese vehicles, Pollard replied: ‘That’s precisely what we are looking into at the present time.”
Wider Defence Context
This announcement comes as reports from Norway and Denmark have alerted the UK to the presence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese electric buses, which could allow China to switch off public transport and bring chaos to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russian spy ship was reportedly directing lasers at Royal Air Force aircrew, described as a “extremely risky” action by defence officials.
The wider defence situation underscores the significance of strong protocols and caution in every aspects of government activities, including vehicle usage to discussions practices.
