Minister Says Ministry of Defence Examining Potential Threat from Vehicles from China, with Personnel Instructed to Refrain from Secret Talk in Cars.
An defense official has stated that the MoD is currently looking into the potential security risks posed by Chinese cars, while staff have been instructed to refrain from talking about classified matters in all vehicles.
Safety Advice for MoD Personnel
In a recent appearance on LBC, Luke Pollard addressed claims that Ministry of Defence staff have been instructed not to talk about classified material while travelling in China-made cars.
The minister said that the ministry is “investigating” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, however emphasised that security is a issue in every contemporary vehicles.
Our department has a fleet of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles represent a very small number.
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 car, to avoid having discussions at a secret level in any car, due to the increasing risks of eavesdropping that are present in all automobile, to only have those secret conversations in protected areas. That’s a prudent and sensible thing for anyone worried about safety.
After it was suggested that it would be prudent for the ministry to stop using every Chinese vehicles, the minister replied: ‘That’s precisely what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Broader Defence Context
This revelation follows claims from Scandinavian countries have warned the United Kingdom to the existence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese buses, which could enable the Chinese government to disable buses and bring chaos to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russia intelligence vessel was reportedly shining laser beams at Royal Air Force pilots, labeled a “highly dangerous” action by defence officials.
The wider defence situation highlights the importance of robust protocols and caution in all areas of government activities, including transport use to discussions habits.