Minister Confirms Ministry of Defence Looking at Potential Threat from Chinese Cars, with Personnel Instructed to Refrain from Secret Talk in Cars.
An defence minister has revealed that the MoD is actively looking into the possible threats posed by Chinese cars, while staff have been told to avoid talking about classified matters in any cars.
Safety Guidance for Defence Personnel
In a recently aired appearance on LBC, Luke Pollard commented on reports that Ministry of Defence officials have been instructed not to discuss secret material while riding in China-made vehicles.
The minister said that the MoD is “examining” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, but emphasised that security is a concern in all modern cars.
Our department has a collection of thousands of cars in the MoD and those vehicles represent a tiny fraction.
But regardless of if you’re driving a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our people is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence devices into their vehicle, to avoid having discussions at a secret classification in any kind of car, because of the growing risks of surveillance that exist in every single automobile, to restrict those confidential talks in secure locations. This is a prudent and reasonable thing for anyone concerned about security.
When it was suggested that it would be wise for the ministry to cease using every Chinese vehicles, the minister responded: ‘That’s exactly what we are looking into at the present time.”
Wider Security Background
This revelation follows reports from Scandinavian countries have warned the United Kingdom to the presence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese electric buses, which could enable China to switch off public transport and cause disruption to public transit.
Additionally, a Russia spy ship has been shining laser beams at Royal Air Force aircrew, described as a “highly dangerous” action by government representatives.
This wider defence situation highlights the importance of robust measures and vigilance in all aspects of official activities, including transport use to communication practices.
