An defence official has stated that the MoD is actively investigating the possible threats associated with Chinese-made vehicles, and staff have been instructed to refrain from talking about secret information in all cars.
Safety Advice for Defence Staff
In a recently aired appearance on LBC, Luke Pollard commented on reports that MoD officials have been told not to talk about classified information while riding in Chinese vehicles.
He explained that the MoD is “investigating” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, however emphasised that security is a concern in every contemporary cars.
Our department has a collection of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and Chinese ones account for a very small number.
However whether you’re driving a vehicle from China or a car from another country, our instruction to our people is not to plug MoD technology into their vehicle, to avoid having conversations at a secret level in any vehicle, because of the increasing threats of surveillance that are present in all vehicle, to restrict those secret talks in secure locations. That’s a wise and sensible thing for everyone concerned about security.
When it was put to him that it would be prudent for the ministry to cease using every Chinese vehicles, the minister responded: ‘That’s exactly what we are looking into at the moment.”
Broader Defence Context
The revelation comes as reports from Norway and Denmark have alerted the UK to the existence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese-made buses, which could allow China to switch off buses and cause disruption to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russia spy ship was reportedly shining laser beams at RAF aircrew, labeled a “highly dangerous” act by government representatives.
This broader security environment underscores the importance of strong measures and caution in every areas of government activities, from vehicle usage to communication habits.
