An defence official has stated that the MoD is currently investigating the potential threats posed by Chinese vehicles, while staff have been instructed to refrain from talking about classified information in all cars.
Safety Advice for MoD Staff
In a recently aired interview on LBC, a defence minister addressed reports that Ministry of Defence officials have been instructed not to discuss classified material while travelling in China-made vehicles.
He explained that the ministry is “investigating” cars from China within its vehicle pools, however noted that security is a concern in all modern cars.
We have a collection of tens of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones represent a tiny fraction.
However regardless of if you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our people is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence devices into their car, to avoid having conversations at a classified classification in any kind of car, due to the growing risks of surveillance that are present in all vehicle, to restrict those secret conversations in secure locations. That’s a wise and sensible thing for everyone worried about safety.
When it was suggested that it would be wise for the ministry to cease using every cars from China, Pollard responded: ‘That’s precisely what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Broader Defence Context
The announcement comes as reports from Norway and Denmark have warned the United Kingdom to the presence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese electric buses, which could enable China to switch off buses and bring chaos to public transit.
Additionally, a Russian intelligence vessel was reportedly shining lasers at Royal Air Force aircrew, described as a “extremely risky” act by government representatives.
This broader security environment highlights the significance of strong protocols and vigilance in every areas of official operations, including vehicle use to discussions habits.
