An defence official has revealed that the Ministry of Defence is currently investigating the potential threats posed by Chinese vehicles, and staff have been instructed to avoid talking about classified matters in any cars.
Security Advice for Defence Personnel
In a recently aired interview on a radio station, Luke Pollard commented on claims that Ministry of Defence officials have been instructed not to discuss secret material while travelling in Chinese cars.
He explained that the ministry is “looking into” cars from China within its fleets, but emphasised that safety is a concern in every contemporary cars.
Our department has a collection of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles account for a very small number.
However whether you’re driving a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our staff is to avoid connecting MoD technology into their car, to avoid having conversations at a classified classification in any kind of vehicle, due to the growing risks of surveillance that are present in all vehicle, to only have those confidential conversations in protected areas. That’s a prudent and reasonable thing for anyone concerned about security.
After 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.”
Wider Defence Background
The revelation comes as reports from Norway and Denmark have alerted the United Kingdom to the presence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese-made electric buses, which could allow China to switch off public transport and bring disruption to public transit.
Additionally, a Russia intelligence vessel was reportedly shining laser beams at RAF aircrew, described as a “extremely risky” act by government representatives.
This broader defence situation underscores the importance of robust measures and vigilance in every aspects of official activities, including vehicle use to communication habits.
