A defence minister has confirmed that the MoD is currently examining the potential threats associated with Chinese cars, and staff have been advised to refrain from discussing secret matters in all vehicles.
Safety Guidance for Defence Staff
During a recent interview on LBC, Luke Pollard commented on claims that Ministry of Defence staff have been instructed not to discuss classified material while riding in China-made cars.
He said that the ministry is “looking into” cars from China within its fleets, however noted that security is a issue in every modern cars.
We have a fleet of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones represent a very small number.
However regardless of if you’re driving a Chinese car or a car from another country, our instruction to our staff is not to plug MoD technology into their vehicle, to avoid having discussions at a classified classification in any kind of car, due to the increasing threats of surveillance that exist in every single vehicle, to only have those confidential conversations in protected areas. This is a prudent and reasonable thing for everyone concerned about security.
After it was suggested that it would be prudent for the ministry to cease using every Chinese vehicles, the minister responded: ‘That’s exactly what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Broader Defence Context
The announcement follows claims from Norway and Denmark have alerted the United Kingdom to the existence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese electric buses, which could allow the Chinese government to disable public transport and cause chaos to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russia spy ship has been directing lasers at Royal Air Force pilots, described as a “extremely risky” action by government representatives.
This wider defence environment underscores the significance of strong protocols and caution in all aspects of government activities, including vehicle usage to discussions practices.
