A defense official has confirmed that the MoD is currently investigating the potential threats posed by Chinese-made cars, and personnel have been told to refrain from talking about secret matters in all vehicles.
Safety Guidance for MoD Staff
In a recently aired interview on LBC, Luke Pollard commented on reports that MoD officials have been instructed not to talk about secret information while riding in China-made cars.
The minister said that the ministry is “investigating” cars from China within its vehicle pools, but noted that security is a issue in all modern cars.
Our department has a fleet of tens of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones account for a very small number.
However whether you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a car from another country, our instruction to our staff is not to plug Ministry of Defence devices into their car, to avoid having discussions at a classified classification in any car, because of the increasing threats of surveillance that are present in every single vehicle, to restrict those secret conversations in protected areas. This is a prudent and reasonable thing for everyone worried about safety.
When it was put to him that it would be prudent for the ministry to cease using all cars from China, Pollard responded: That is precisely what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Wider Defence Background
The announcement follows reports from Scandinavian countries have warned the UK to the presence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese-made buses, which could enable China to disable public transport and bring chaos to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russia spy ship was reportedly shining laser beams at RAF aircrew, labeled a “highly dangerous” act by defence officials.
The broader defence environment underscores the importance of robust measures and vigilance in every areas of official activities, from transport usage to discussions practices.
