An defense minister has stated that the Ministry of Defence is actively looking into the possible threats associated with Chinese cars, and staff have been advised to avoid talking about classified information in any vehicles.
Safety Advice for Defence Personnel
In a recently aired interview on LBC, Luke Pollard addressed claims that MoD staff have been instructed not to discuss secret information while riding in Chinese cars.
He said that the ministry is “looking into” cars from China within its fleets, however noted that security is a issue in all modern vehicles.
Our department has a fleet of tens of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones represent a tiny fraction.
However whether you’re driving a Chinese car or a car from another country, what we’ve asked our people is to avoid connecting MoD technology into their car, to avoid having conversations at a classified classification in any kind of car, because of the growing threats of surveillance that exist in all vehicle, to restrict those confidential talks in secure locations. This is a prudent and sensible thing for anyone concerned about security.
After it was put to him that it would be prudent for the ministry to stop using every cars from China, Pollard replied: ‘That’s exactly what we are looking into at the present time.”
Broader Security Background
The revelation comes as claims from Scandinavian countries have alerted the United Kingdom to the existence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese-made buses, which could enable the Chinese government to switch off public transport and bring chaos to public transit.
Additionally, a Russia intelligence vessel has been directing laser beams at RAF pilots, labeled a “extremely risky” action by defence officials.
This wider security environment highlights the importance of robust measures and caution in all aspects of official operations, from transport usage to discussions habits.
