An defense minister has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is actively looking into the possible security risks posed by Chinese-made cars, and staff have been told to refrain from talking about classified information in all vehicles.
Safety Guidance for MoD Staff
In a recent appearance on a radio station, Luke Pollard commented on reports that Ministry of Defence officials have been told not to discuss secret information while travelling in China-made cars.
He explained that the ministry is “looking into” Chinese vehicles within its fleets, but noted that safety is a concern in every modern cars.
Our department has a fleet of tens of thousands of vehicles 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, our instruction to our staff is to avoid connecting MoD technology into their car, to avoid having conversations at a secret classification in any vehicle, due to the increasing threats of surveillance that exist in every single vehicle, to only have those secret conversations in protected areas. That’s a prudent and reasonable thing for everyone concerned about security.
After it was suggested that it would be wise for the MoD to cease using all cars from China, Pollard responded: ‘That’s exactly what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Broader Security Context
The announcement comes as claims from Scandinavian countries have alerted the UK to the existence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese-made electric buses, which could enable China to switch off buses and bring chaos to public transit.
Additionally, a Russian spy ship was reportedly shining lasers at Royal Air Force aircrew, labeled a “highly dangerous” action by government representatives.
This wider security environment highlights the importance of robust protocols and vigilance in all aspects of official activities, from transport usage to discussions habits.
