A defense official has revealed that the Ministry of Defence is currently looking into the possible threats posed by Chinese-made vehicles, while personnel have been told to avoid discussing secret information in any vehicles.
Security Advice for MoD Staff
In a recently aired interview on LBC, Luke Pollard commented on reports that MoD staff have been instructed not to discuss classified material while riding in Chinese cars.
He stated that the MoD is “investigating” Chinese vehicles within its fleets, but noted that safety is a concern in all contemporary vehicles.
We have a collection of thousands of cars in the MoD and Chinese ones account for a tiny fraction.
However regardless of if you’re driving a vehicle from China or a car from another country, what we’ve asked our people is to avoid connecting MoD devices into their vehicle, to avoid having discussions at a classified classification in any kind of vehicle, because of the growing threats of surveillance that are present in all vehicle, to restrict those confidential conversations in protected areas. This is a wise and reasonable thing for everyone worried about security.
When it was put to him that it would be prudent for the ministry to stop using all cars from China, the minister replied: ‘That’s exactly what we are looking into at the present time.”
Broader Security Context
The revelation follows claims from Norway and Denmark have alerted the United Kingdom to the existence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made buses, which could enable the Chinese government to disable buses and bring disruption to public transit.
Additionally, a Russian spy ship was reportedly shining lasers at RAF aircrew, described as a “highly dangerous” act by defence officials.
The broader security environment underscores the significance of robust measures and caution in all areas of official operations, from transport usage to communication habits.
