A defense official has confirmed that the MoD is actively investigating the possible threats posed by Chinese-made cars, while staff have been instructed to avoid discussing classified matters in any cars.
Safety Advice for Defence Personnel
In a recently aired interview on a radio station, Luke Pollard commented on claims that Ministry of Defence officials have been instructed not to talk about classified information while travelling in China-made cars.
He said that the MoD is “looking into” cars from China within its fleets, but stressed that security is a issue in every modern cars.
We have a fleet of tens of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles account for a very small number.
However whether you’re driving a Chinese car or a car from another country, our instruction to our people is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence devices into their vehicle, to avoid having discussions at a secret classification in any kind of car, due to the growing risks of eavesdropping that exist in every single vehicle, to only have those secret conversations in protected areas. That’s a prudent and sensible thing for anyone concerned about safety.
When it was put to him that it would be prudent for the ministry to cease using all cars from China, the minister responded: ‘That’s exactly what we are looking into at the moment.”
Wider Defence Background
This revelation follows claims from Norway and Denmark have warned the United Kingdom to the existence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made buses, which could enable the Chinese government to disable public transport and bring chaos to public transit.
Additionally, a Russian intelligence vessel has been shining laser beams at Royal Air Force pilots, described as a “highly dangerous” act by government representatives.
The broader security environment underscores the importance of robust measures and caution in every aspects of government operations, from vehicle use to discussions practices.
