A defence minister has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is actively investigating the potential security risks associated with Chinese cars, and staff have been told to avoid discussing secret information in all vehicles.
Safety Advice for MoD Personnel
In a recently aired appearance on LBC, Luke Pollard addressed reports that Ministry of Defence officials have been told not to talk about classified material while travelling in Chinese vehicles.
He stated that the MoD is “looking into” cars from China within its vehicle pools, however emphasised that safety is a issue in all modern cars.
We have a collection of tens of thousands of cars in the MoD and Chinese ones represent a very small number.
However regardless of if you’re driving a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our staff is to avoid connecting MoD technology into their vehicle, to avoid having discussions at a secret level in any kind of vehicle, due to the growing risks of surveillance that are present in every single automobile, to restrict those secret talks in secure locations. This is a wise and reasonable thing for everyone concerned about safety.
After it was suggested that it would be prudent for the ministry to stop using all Chinese vehicles, the minister responded: That is exactly what we are looking into at the present time.”
Wider Defence Context
The revelation follows claims from Scandinavian countries have warned the United Kingdom to the existence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese electric buses, which could allow China to switch off public transport and bring disruption to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russian intelligence vessel has been directing lasers at Royal Air Force pilots, labeled a “highly dangerous” action by government representatives.
This wider security situation underscores the significance of robust measures and vigilance in every areas of government operations, from vehicle use to communication practices.
