Minister States Ministry of Defence Examining Security Risk from Vehicles from China, with Personnel Advised to Refrain from Secret Talk in Cars.
A defence official has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is currently looking into the possible security risks associated with Chinese vehicles, while staff have been instructed to refrain from talking about classified information in all vehicles.
Safety Guidance for MoD Personnel
During a recently aired interview on LBC, a defence minister addressed claims that Ministry of Defence officials have been told not to discuss secret information while riding in China-made vehicles.
He said that the MoD is “looking into” Chinese vehicles within its fleets, however stressed that security is a issue in every contemporary cars.
Our department has a collection of tens of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones represent a tiny fraction.
But whether you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a car from another country, our instruction to our staff is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence devices into their car, not to have conversations at a secret classification in any car, due to the increasing threats of surveillance that are present in every single vehicle, to restrict those secret talks in protected areas. That’s a wise and reasonable thing for anyone concerned about security.
After it was put to him that it would be wise for the ministry to stop using every cars from China, Pollard responded: ‘That’s precisely what we are looking into at the moment.”
Wider Defence Context
The announcement comes as reports from Norway and Denmark have alerted the United Kingdom to the presence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made electric buses, which could allow the Chinese government to switch off public transport and cause disruption to public transit.
Additionally, a Russian spy ship was reportedly directing laser beams at Royal Air Force aircrew, described as a “highly dangerous” act by defence officials.
This broader security environment underscores the significance of robust protocols and caution in every areas of government operations, from transport use to communication habits.