Government Official Confirms MoD Investigating Security Risk from Chinese Cars, as Staff Instructed to Refrain from Secret Talk in Vehicles.
An defence official has confirmed that the MoD is currently looking into the possible threats posed by Chinese vehicles, while personnel have been told to avoid discussing secret information in all cars.
Safety Guidance for MoD Staff
In a recent appearance on a radio station, Luke Pollard addressed reports that Ministry of Defence officials have been told not to discuss secret material while travelling in Chinese cars.
He said that the ministry is “examining” cars from China within its vehicle pools, but emphasised that safety is a concern in every modern vehicles.
Our department has a collection of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and Chinese ones represent a tiny fraction.
However regardless of if you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a car from another country, what we’ve asked our staff is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence devices into their vehicle, not to have conversations at a classified classification in any vehicle, due to the increasing threats of surveillance that exist in every single vehicle, to only have those secret talks in protected areas. That’s a prudent and reasonable thing for everyone concerned about safety.
After it was put to him that it would be wise for the ministry to stop using every Chinese vehicles, the minister replied: ‘That’s exactly what we are looking into at the present time.”
Broader Defence Background
The announcement comes as reports from Scandinavian countries have warned the UK to the existence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese buses, which could enable China to disable buses and cause chaos to public transit.
Additionally, a Russian intelligence vessel was reportedly shining lasers at Royal Air Force pilots, labeled a “extremely risky” action by defence officials.
The wider security situation underscores the significance of strong protocols and caution in every areas of official operations, including transport use to discussions practices.
