An defense minister has revealed that the Ministry of Defence is actively looking into the potential security risks associated with Chinese cars, while staff have been told to refrain from talking about classified information in all cars.
Safety Guidance for MoD Staff
In a recently aired appearance on LBC, Luke Pollard commented on claims that Ministry of Defence staff have been instructed not to talk about secret information while travelling in Chinese cars.
He said that the MoD is “looking into” cars from China within its fleets, but emphasised that security is a concern in all modern vehicles.
We have a collection of tens of thousands of cars in the MoD and Chinese ones account for a tiny fraction.
But regardless of if you’re driving a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our people is to avoid connecting MoD devices into their car, not to have discussions at a secret classification in any kind of car, due to the increasing risks of eavesdropping that are present in all vehicle, to restrict those confidential conversations in secure locations. That’s a prudent and sensible thing for everyone concerned about safety.
After it was suggested that it would be wise for the ministry to cease using every Chinese vehicles, the minister responded: ‘That’s exactly what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Broader Security Context
This announcement comes as claims from Norway and Denmark have warned the UK to the presence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese buses, which could allow the Chinese government to switch off public transport and bring disruption to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russia spy ship has been shining lasers at RAF pilots, labeled a “extremely risky” act by government representatives.
The broader security environment underscores the importance of strong protocols and caution in every areas of official operations, from transport use to communication practices.
