A defence minister has revealed that the MoD is currently investigating the potential threats posed by Chinese-made cars, while personnel have been told to avoid discussing classified information in any vehicles.
Safety Advice for Defence Staff
In a recently aired interview on LBC, Luke Pollard commented on claims that Ministry of Defence staff have been told not to discuss classified material while riding in China-made vehicles.
He said that the ministry is “looking into” cars from China within its vehicle pools, but emphasised that safety is a concern in all contemporary vehicles.
We have a collection of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones account for a tiny fraction.
But regardless of if you’re driving a Chinese car or a car from another country, our instruction to our people is not to plug MoD devices into their vehicle, not to have conversations at a secret classification in any vehicle, because of the growing risks of surveillance that exist in every single vehicle, to restrict those confidential conversations in protected areas. This is a wise and reasonable thing for anyone concerned about security.
After it was suggested that it would be prudent for the ministry to stop using all Chinese vehicles, the minister responded: ‘That’s precisely what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Wider Defence Context
The announcement comes as reports from Scandinavian countries have alerted the United Kingdom to the existence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese-made buses, which could allow the Chinese government to disable public transport and cause disruption to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russian spy ship has been shining lasers at RAF pilots, labeled a “extremely risky” action by government representatives.
This broader defence situation highlights the importance of robust protocols and caution in all areas of government activities, from transport use to discussions practices.
