A defence official has stated that the MoD is currently investigating the potential security risks associated with Chinese cars, while staff have been told to refrain from discussing secret information in any vehicles.
Safety Guidance for Defence Personnel
In a recent appearance on LBC, Luke Pollard addressed reports that Ministry of Defence staff have been told not to talk about classified material while riding in Chinese cars.
He stated that the MoD is “investigating” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, but noted that safety is a issue in all contemporary vehicles.
We have a collection of tens of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles account for a tiny fraction.
However regardless of if you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a car from another country, our instruction to our staff is not to plug Ministry of Defence devices into their car, not to have conversations at a secret level in any kind of vehicle, because of the increasing risks of surveillance that are present in every single vehicle, to restrict those confidential conversations in protected areas. That’s a prudent and sensible thing for anyone concerned about safety.
When it was put to him that it would be wise for the MoD to stop using every cars from China, Pollard replied: ‘That’s precisely what we are looking into at the present time.”
Broader Security Background
The announcement follows reports from Norway and Denmark have warned the UK to the presence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese-made electric buses, which could allow China to switch off buses and cause disruption to public transit.
Additionally, a Russian spy ship was reportedly shining laser beams at RAF aircrew, labeled a “extremely risky” action by defence officials.
This wider defence environment underscores the significance of strong measures and caution in every aspects of official activities, including vehicle usage to discussions habits.
