An defense official has confirmed that the MoD is actively looking into the potential security risks posed by Chinese cars, and staff have been told to refrain from discussing secret matters in all cars.
Safety Guidance for Defence Staff
During a recent interview on LBC, Luke Pollard commented on reports that Ministry of Defence officials have been told not to talk about classified information while travelling in China-made cars.
He said that the ministry is “looking into” cars from China within its vehicle pools, however noted that safety is a concern in all contemporary cars.
Our department has a collection of tens of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and those vehicles account for a very small number.
But 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 devices into their vehicle, not to have conversations at a secret classification in any vehicle, because of the increasing risks of eavesdropping that exist in every single vehicle, to only have those secret conversations in secure locations. That’s a wise and reasonable thing for everyone concerned about security.
After it was suggested that it would be wise for the MoD to cease using every Chinese vehicles, Pollard replied: ‘That’s exactly what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Wider Defence Context
This revelation 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 enable China to disable buses and bring chaos to public transit.
Additionally, a Russia spy ship has been shining lasers at RAF aircrew, described as a “extremely risky” action by defence officials.
The broader security environment highlights the importance of strong measures and vigilance in every areas of official operations, from transport usage to communication practices.
