A defence minister has revealed that the MoD is actively investigating the possible security risks posed by Chinese cars, while staff have been told to avoid discussing secret information in all cars.
Safety Guidance for Defence Staff
In a recently aired appearance on LBC, a defence minister commented on reports that MoD officials have been instructed not to discuss classified material while riding in China-made vehicles.
The minister stated that the ministry is “investigating” Chinese vehicles within its fleets, but noted that security is a issue in every contemporary cars.
Our department has a collection of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones account for a very small number.
However regardless of if you’re driving a Chinese car or a car from another country, our instruction to our people is not to plug MoD technology into their vehicle, not to have discussions at a classified classification in any kind of car, due to the increasing risks of surveillance that are present in all automobile, to only have those confidential conversations in protected areas. That’s a wise and sensible thing for everyone concerned about safety.
After 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 are looking into at the present time.”
Broader Defence Context
The announcement follows claims from Scandinavian countries have alerted the United Kingdom to the presence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made electric buses, which could allow China to switch off public transport and cause disruption to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russia intelligence vessel was reportedly shining lasers at Royal Air Force pilots, described as a “highly dangerous” act by government representatives.
This wider security environment underscores the importance of strong measures and caution in all aspects of official operations, including transport use to discussions habits.
