An defence minister has stated that the Ministry of Defence is actively investigating the possible security risks posed by Chinese vehicles, while staff have been told to refrain from discussing classified matters in all cars.
Safety Advice for Defence Staff
In a recently aired appearance on LBC, Luke Pollard addressed reports that Ministry of Defence officials have been told not to talk about secret material while riding in Chinese cars.
The minister said that the MoD is “looking into” cars from China within its vehicle pools, but noted that security is a concern in all modern cars.
Our department has a fleet of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles represent a tiny fraction.
But regardless of if you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a car from another country, what we’ve asked our people is to avoid connecting MoD technology into their vehicle, to avoid having conversations at a secret level in any car, because of the increasing threats of eavesdropping that are present in all automobile, to restrict those confidential talks in secure locations. This is a wise and reasonable thing for anyone concerned about safety.
After it was put to him that it would be prudent for the ministry to stop using every Chinese vehicles, Pollard responded: ‘That’s precisely what we are looking into at the moment.”
Broader Security Context
The revelation comes as reports from Scandinavian countries have alerted the United Kingdom to the existence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese electric buses, which could enable the Chinese government to switch off buses and cause disruption to public transit.
Additionally, a Russian intelligence vessel was reportedly directing laser beams at RAF aircrew, labeled a “extremely risky” action by defence officials.
This broader security environment underscores the significance of strong protocols and caution in all aspects of official activities, including vehicle usage to discussions practices.
