An defence official has stated that the Ministry of Defence is currently examining the potential threats associated with Chinese cars, while personnel have been told to refrain from discussing classified information in any vehicles.
Safety Advice for MoD Personnel
During a recently aired interview on a radio station, Luke Pollard commented on claims that Ministry of Defence officials have been instructed not to discuss classified information while riding in Chinese cars.
He said that the ministry is “examining” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, however noted that safety is a issue in every modern cars.
Our department has a collection of tens of thousands of cars in the MoD and those vehicles account for a tiny fraction.
However 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 technology into their vehicle, not to have discussions at a classified classification in any kind of car, because of the growing risks of surveillance that are present in all automobile, to only have those confidential talks in secure locations. That’s a wise and sensible thing for anyone concerned about safety.
After it was suggested that it would be prudent for the ministry to stop using all cars from China, the minister responded: ‘That’s exactly what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Broader Defence Context
This revelation follows reports from Norway and Denmark have warned the UK to the presence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese buses, which could enable China to disable public transport and bring disruption to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russia spy ship was reportedly directing lasers at RAF aircrew, described as a “highly dangerous” action by defence officials.
This wider security situation highlights the significance of robust measures and vigilance in every areas of government activities, from vehicle usage to communication practices.
