An defence minister has revealed that the Ministry of Defence is actively examining the potential security risks posed by Chinese-made vehicles, while staff have been told to refrain from discussing secret information in any vehicles.
Safety Guidance for Defence Staff
During a recently aired appearance on LBC, Luke Pollard commented on claims that MoD staff have been instructed not to talk about classified information while travelling in China-made cars.
He stated that the MoD is “examining” Chinese vehicles within its fleets, however stressed that security is a concern in all modern cars.
Our department has a fleet of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles represent a very small number.
However regardless of if you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our people is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence technology into their car, to avoid having conversations at a secret classification in any kind of car, because of the increasing threats of surveillance that exist in all vehicle, to only have those secret talks in protected areas. That’s a prudent and sensible thing for everyone worried about safety.
When it was put to him that it would be wise for the MoD to cease using all cars from China, Pollard replied: ‘That’s precisely what we are looking into at the moment.”
Broader Security Context
The announcement comes as reports from Norway and Denmark have warned the UK to the presence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made electric buses, which could allow the Chinese government to disable public transport and bring chaos to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russian intelligence vessel has been shining lasers at Royal Air Force pilots, described as a “extremely risky” act by government representatives.
This broader security situation underscores the importance of strong measures and vigilance in every aspects of official operations, from transport use to discussions practices.
