A defence minister has stated that the MoD is currently investigating the possible security risks posed by Chinese cars, and personnel have been told to avoid talking about secret matters in any vehicles.
Safety Guidance for MoD Staff
During a recent appearance on a radio station, Luke Pollard addressed reports that Ministry of Defence officials have been told not to talk about secret material while travelling in Chinese vehicles.
He stated that the ministry is “looking into” cars from China within its fleets, however emphasised that security is a concern in every modern cars.
Our department has a fleet of tens of thousands of cars in the MoD and Chinese ones account for a very small number.
However regardless of if you’re driving a Chinese car or a car from another country, our instruction to our people is not to plug Ministry of Defence technology into their car, to avoid having conversations at a secret level in any vehicle, because of the growing risks of surveillance that are present in every single automobile, to restrict those secret conversations in secure locations. That’s a wise and sensible thing for anyone concerned about security.
After it was suggested that it would be prudent for the ministry to stop using every cars from China, the minister responded: ‘That’s exactly what we are looking into at the moment.”
Broader Defence Background
This announcement comes as claims from Norway and Denmark have alerted the United Kingdom to the presence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese-made buses, which could allow the Chinese government to disable buses and bring chaos to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russian intelligence vessel has been directing lasers at Royal Air Force pilots, labeled a “extremely risky” action by government representatives.
This wider defence situation underscores the significance of robust protocols and caution in all aspects of official operations, including transport usage to communication practices.
