A defense official has revealed that the Ministry of Defence is actively investigating the possible threats associated with Chinese cars, and staff have been told to refrain from discussing classified matters in any vehicles.
Safety Guidance for Defence Staff
During a recent appearance on a radio station, Luke Pollard addressed claims that Ministry of Defence officials have been told not to discuss classified information while travelling in Chinese cars.
The minister said that the ministry is “investigating” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, however noted that safety is a issue in every modern cars.
Our department has a fleet of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles account for a tiny fraction.
However whether you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our people is not to plug MoD devices into their vehicle, not to have conversations at a secret classification in any vehicle, because of the growing threats of eavesdropping that are present in all vehicle, to restrict those secret conversations in protected areas. That’s a wise and sensible thing for everyone concerned about safety.
When it was suggested that it would be prudent for the ministry to cease using every cars from China, Pollard replied: ‘That’s exactly what we are looking into at the present time.”
Broader Security Background
This announcement follows reports from Scandinavian countries have alerted the United Kingdom to the existence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese buses, which could enable China to switch off buses and cause disruption to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russia spy ship was reportedly shining laser beams at RAF pilots, labeled a “extremely risky” action by government representatives.
The wider security environment highlights the importance of strong measures and caution in all areas of official operations, including transport use to discussions practices.
