A defense official has stated that the Ministry of Defence is currently investigating the possible security risks associated with Chinese cars, and staff have been advised to avoid talking about classified matters in any cars.
Safety Guidance for Defence Staff
In a recent interview on a radio station, Luke Pollard commented on claims that Ministry of Defence staff have been instructed not to talk about secret material while riding in Chinese vehicles.
He stated that the MoD is “looking into” Chinese vehicles within its fleets, but emphasised that safety is a issue in every contemporary cars.
We have a fleet of tens of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and Chinese ones represent a tiny fraction.
However regardless of if you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our people is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence devices into their vehicle, not to have discussions at a secret level in any kind of car, due to the growing risks of surveillance that are present in every single automobile, to only have those secret talks in secure locations. That’s a prudent and sensible thing for anyone concerned about security.
When it was put to him 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 present time.”
Broader Defence Context
The revelation follows claims from Scandinavian countries have alerted the United Kingdom to the existence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese buses, which could enable China to disable buses and cause disruption to public transit.
Additionally, a Russian intelligence vessel was reportedly shining laser beams at Royal Air Force aircrew, described as a “highly dangerous” act by defence officials.
The broader defence situation highlights the importance of robust measures and vigilance in all areas of official activities, including vehicle use to discussions practices.
