A defence official has stated that the Ministry of Defence is actively looking into the potential threats posed by Chinese vehicles, while staff have been told to refrain from discussing classified information in any cars.
Safety Guidance for MoD Personnel
In a recent appearance on LBC, Luke Pollard commented on claims that MoD staff have been told not to talk about classified information while travelling in Chinese vehicles.
He said that the MoD is “investigating” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, but noted that safety is a issue in all modern vehicles.
Our department has a collection of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones account for a very small number.
But regardless of if you’re driving a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our people is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence devices into their car, to avoid having conversations at a secret level in any kind of car, due to the growing threats of eavesdropping that are present in every single automobile, to only have those secret conversations in protected areas. That’s a prudent and reasonable thing for anyone concerned about security.
When it was put to him that it would be wise for the ministry to cease using all cars from China, Pollard replied: That is exactly what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Wider Security Background
The announcement follows claims from Scandinavian countries have warned the UK to the presence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese buses, which could enable China to switch off public transport and cause disruption to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russia intelligence vessel was reportedly shining laser beams at Royal Air Force pilots, described as a “highly dangerous” action by defence officials.
This wider defence situation underscores the importance of strong protocols and caution in all areas of government operations, including vehicle usage to discussions habits.
