A defense official has confirmed that the MoD is actively investigating the possible threats associated with Chinese-made cars, and personnel have been told to avoid talking about classified information in any cars.
Safety Guidance for MoD Personnel
In a recent interview on LBC, Luke Pollard commented on reports that MoD staff have been instructed not to talk about classified material while travelling in China-made vehicles.
The minister explained that the MoD is “looking into” cars from China within its vehicle pools, but noted that security is a issue in every modern vehicles.
Our department has a collection of tens of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and Chinese ones represent a tiny fraction.
But regardless of if you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a car from another country, what we’ve asked our staff is not to plug Ministry of Defence devices into their vehicle, to avoid having conversations at a classified level in any kind of car, because of the growing risks of eavesdropping that exist in all vehicle, to only have those confidential conversations in secure locations. This is a wise and reasonable thing for everyone worried about safety.
After it was put to him that it would be prudent for the ministry to cease using every Chinese vehicles, Pollard replied: ‘That’s exactly what we are looking into at the moment.”
Broader Security Context
The revelation comes as claims from Norway and Denmark have alerted the United Kingdom to the existence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made electric buses, which could allow the Chinese government to disable public transport and bring chaos to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russian spy ship was reportedly directing laser beams at RAF aircrew, described as a “highly dangerous” action by government representatives.
The wider defence environment underscores the significance of robust measures and vigilance in all areas of official operations, including transport use to discussions practices.
