A defense minister has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is currently examining the possible threats associated with Chinese-made vehicles, while staff have been advised to refrain from discussing classified information in any vehicles.
Safety Advice for MoD Personnel
During a recent interview on a radio station, Luke Pollard addressed reports that Ministry of Defence staff have been told not to talk about secret information while riding in Chinese cars.
He explained that the ministry is “examining” Chinese vehicles within its fleets, but noted that safety is a concern in every modern cars.
We have a collection of tens of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and Chinese ones account for a tiny fraction.
However whether you’re driving a Chinese car or a car from another country, what we’ve asked our staff is not to plug Ministry of Defence technology into their car, to avoid having conversations at a secret level in any kind of vehicle, because of the growing risks of eavesdropping that exist in all automobile, to restrict those secret talks in secure locations. This is a prudent and reasonable thing for everyone worried about security.
When it was suggested that it would be prudent for the MoD to stop using all cars from China, the minister responded: ‘That’s precisely what we are looking into at the moment.”
Broader Defence Background
The announcement comes as reports from Norway and Denmark have alerted the UK to the existence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese-made buses, which could enable China to switch off buses and bring disruption to public transit.
Additionally, a Russian intelligence vessel has been shining lasers at Royal Air Force pilots, described as a “extremely risky” act by defence officials.
This wider defence environment underscores the importance of robust protocols and caution in every aspects of government operations, including vehicle usage to discussions practices.
