A defence minister has stated that the MoD is actively looking into the potential threats posed by Chinese-made cars, while staff have been told to refrain from talking about secret information in all cars.
Security Advice for Defence Personnel
In a recently aired interview on LBC, a defence minister commented on reports that MoD officials have been instructed not to talk about secret information while travelling in China-made cars.
He said that the MoD is “examining” Chinese vehicles within its fleets, but noted that safety is a issue in all modern cars.
We have a fleet of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles account for a tiny fraction.
But whether you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our people is not to plug MoD devices into their car, not to have discussions at a secret level in any kind of vehicle, due to the increasing threats of surveillance that are present in all vehicle, to restrict those secret talks 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 precisely what we are looking into at the moment.”
Broader Defence Context
This revelation follows claims from Scandinavian countries have alerted the UK to the existence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese-made buses, which could enable the Chinese government to disable public transport and bring disruption to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russian intelligence vessel was reportedly shining laser beams at RAF pilots, described as a “extremely risky” act by defence officials.
The wider defence situation highlights the importance of strong protocols and vigilance in all areas of government operations, including transport use to discussions habits.
