An defense official has revealed that the MoD is actively investigating the potential threats posed by Chinese vehicles, while personnel have been advised to refrain from discussing classified matters in any vehicles.
Safety Advice for Defence Staff
During a recently aired appearance on a radio station, Luke Pollard addressed reports that MoD officials have been told not to discuss classified information while riding in Chinese cars.
He stated that the MoD is “investigating” cars from China within its fleets, however noted that safety is a concern in all modern vehicles.
We have a collection of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles represent a tiny fraction.
However regardless of if you’re driving a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our people is not to plug Ministry of Defence technology into their car, to avoid having discussions at a secret level in any vehicle, due to the increasing risks of eavesdropping that exist in all vehicle, to only have those confidential talks in secure locations. That’s a prudent and sensible thing for anyone concerned about safety.
After it was put to him that it would be prudent for the MoD to cease using all cars from China, the minister responded: ‘That’s precisely what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Broader Defence Context
This announcement comes as claims from Norway and Denmark have warned the United Kingdom to the existence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese buses, which could allow the Chinese government to switch off buses and bring chaos to public transit.
Additionally, a Russia spy ship has been directing lasers at Royal Air Force aircrew, described as a “extremely risky” act by defence officials.
This broader defence environment highlights the significance of strong measures and caution in every areas of government activities, from vehicle use to discussions practices.
