Government Official Confirms Ministry of Defence Investigating Potential Threat from Vehicles from China, as Staff Advised to Refrain from Confidential Discussions in Cars.
A defence official has confirmed that the MoD is actively looking into the possible threats associated with Chinese-made vehicles, while staff have been told to refrain from discussing classified matters in any vehicles.
Safety Advice for Defence Staff
In a recent appearance on a radio station, Luke Pollard commented on reports that Ministry of Defence staff have been told not to talk about secret material while riding in China-made cars.
The minister explained that the MoD is “examining” cars from China within its fleets, but emphasised that security is a concern in every contemporary vehicles.
We have a collection of tens of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones represent 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 devices into their car, to avoid having discussions at a classified classification in any car, due to the growing threats of surveillance that exist in all automobile, to only have those secret conversations in secure locations. That’s a prudent and sensible thing for anyone concerned about security.
After it was put to him that it would be wise for the ministry to cease using all Chinese vehicles, Pollard responded: ‘That’s exactly what we are looking into at the moment.”
Wider Defence Context
This revelation follows claims from Scandinavian countries have warned the UK to the presence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese-made buses, which could enable China to switch off public transport and cause disruption to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russian intelligence vessel has been directing laser beams at Royal Air Force pilots, labeled a “extremely risky” act by government representatives.
This wider defence situation underscores the importance of strong measures and caution in all areas of government operations, from vehicle usage to communication practices.
