A defense official has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is currently examining the possible threats posed by Chinese cars, while staff have been advised to avoid discussing secret information in any cars.
Security Advice for Defence Staff
During a recent interview on LBC, a defence minister commented on claims that Ministry of Defence officials have been instructed not to talk about classified information while riding in Chinese vehicles.
The minister stated that the MoD is “examining” cars from China within its vehicle pools, however noted that safety is a concern in every modern cars.
We have a fleet of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles account for a very small number.
But regardless of if you’re driving a vehicle from China or a car from another country, our instruction to our people is not to plug MoD devices into their car, to avoid having discussions at a classified level in any kind of car, due to the increasing risks of surveillance that are present in all vehicle, to restrict those confidential conversations in protected areas. This is a prudent and reasonable thing for everyone worried about safety.
When it was suggested that it would be wise for the ministry to cease using every cars from China, Pollard responded: ‘That’s exactly what we are looking into at the moment.”
Broader Defence Context
This announcement follows claims from Norway and Denmark have warned the United Kingdom to the presence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese electric buses, which could enable China to disable public transport and bring disruption to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russia intelligence vessel has been shining lasers at Royal Air Force aircrew, described as a “extremely risky” action by government representatives.
This broader defence situation underscores the importance of robust protocols and caution in all aspects of government operations, including vehicle usage to discussions habits.
