An defence minister has confirmed that the MoD is actively looking into the potential security risks associated with Chinese-made vehicles, and staff have been told to avoid talking about secret matters in any vehicles.
Safety Guidance for MoD Staff
In a recently aired appearance on LBC, Luke Pollard commented on claims that Ministry of Defence officials have been told not to talk about classified information while travelling in China-made cars.
The minister said that the MoD is “investigating” Chinese vehicles within its fleets, but emphasised that safety is a concern in all contemporary cars.
Our department has a fleet of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and those vehicles represent a tiny fraction.
But regardless of if you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our people is not to plug Ministry of Defence devices into their car, not to have conversations at a secret level in any vehicle, because of the growing risks of surveillance that exist in all automobile, to only have those confidential talks in protected areas. That’s a prudent and reasonable thing for anyone concerned about safety.
After it was put to him that it would be wise for the ministry to stop using all Chinese vehicles, Pollard responded: That is precisely what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Broader Security Background
This revelation comes as claims from Scandinavian countries have alerted the UK to the existence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese buses, which could enable China to disable public transport and bring disruption to public transit.
Additionally, a Russia spy ship has been directing laser beams at Royal Air Force aircrew, labeled a “extremely risky” act by defence officials.
This wider security situation underscores the importance of strong measures and caution in every areas of official operations, including transport use to communication practices.
