An defence minister has revealed that the Ministry of Defence is actively looking into the possible threats posed by Chinese vehicles, and staff have been advised to refrain from discussing classified matters in any vehicles.
Safety Advice for Defence Personnel
During a recently aired interview on LBC, Luke Pollard addressed claims that MoD staff have been told not to talk about secret information while travelling in Chinese cars.
The minister stated that the ministry is “looking into” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, however stressed that safety is a issue in all modern cars.
Our department has a fleet of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles account for a tiny fraction.
But whether you’re driving a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our staff is to avoid connecting MoD devices into their vehicle, to avoid having conversations at a secret level in any kind of vehicle, because of the growing risks of eavesdropping that exist in all automobile, to restrict those confidential talks in protected areas. This is a prudent and reasonable thing for everyone concerned about safety.
After it was suggested that it would be prudent for the MoD to stop using all Chinese vehicles, Pollard responded: ‘That’s exactly what we are looking into at the moment.”
Wider Defence Background
This revelation follows reports from Norway and Denmark have warned the United Kingdom to the existence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese electric buses, which could allow the Chinese government to switch off public transport and bring chaos to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russian spy ship was reportedly shining lasers at RAF aircrew, described as a “extremely risky” action by defence officials.
This wider security situation highlights the importance of robust protocols and vigilance in every aspects of government operations, including transport usage to communication practices.
