A defence official has revealed that the Ministry of Defence is currently looking into the potential security risks associated with Chinese vehicles, and personnel have been advised to avoid discussing classified information in any cars.
Safety Advice for Defence Staff
During a recent appearance on LBC, a defence minister addressed reports that Ministry of Defence officials have been told not to talk about classified information while riding in China-made cars.
The minister explained that the ministry is “looking into” cars from China within its vehicle pools, however emphasised that safety is a concern in all modern vehicles.
Our department has a fleet of tens of thousands of cars in the MoD and those vehicles represent a very small number.
However regardless of if you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a car from another country, our instruction to our people is not to plug MoD technology into their car, not to have discussions at a classified level in any vehicle, because of the increasing risks of surveillance that are present in every single automobile, to only have those confidential conversations in protected areas. That’s a prudent and sensible thing for everyone worried about safety.
After it was put to him that it would be wise for the MoD to stop using all cars from China, Pollard replied: That is precisely what we’re investigating 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 shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made buses, which could enable China to disable public transport and bring chaos to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russian spy ship was reportedly shining lasers at RAF aircrew, described as a “highly dangerous” action by defence officials.
The broader defence environment highlights the importance of strong protocols and caution in every aspects of official operations, including transport usage to discussions practices.
