An defence official has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is currently examining the potential threats posed by Chinese-made vehicles, while staff have been told to refrain from talking about secret information in any vehicles.
Safety Guidance for Defence Staff
During a recent interview on LBC, Luke Pollard addressed claims that MoD officials have been instructed not to talk about secret material while travelling in Chinese cars.
The minister said that the ministry is “investigating” cars from China within its fleets, but stressed that safety is a concern in all modern cars.
Our department has a collection of tens of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and Chinese ones represent a very small number.
But whether you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a car from another country, our instruction to our staff is not to plug MoD technology into their car, to avoid having discussions at a classified level in any vehicle, due to the increasing threats of surveillance that exist in every single automobile, to restrict those confidential talks in protected areas. This is a wise and reasonable thing for everyone concerned about security.
When it was suggested that it would be prudent for the ministry to stop using all cars from China, Pollard responded: ‘That’s exactly what we are looking into at the present time.”
Wider Defence Context
The announcement comes as reports from Scandinavian countries have alerted the UK to the existence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese buses, which could allow the Chinese government to disable public transport and cause disruption to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russia intelligence vessel has been directing lasers at Royal Air Force aircrew, labeled a “extremely risky” act by government representatives.
This wider defence environment highlights the importance of robust measures and vigilance in all areas of official operations, including transport usage to discussions practices.
