Government Official Says MoD Examining Potential Threat from Chinese Cars, with Personnel Told to Refrain from Confidential Discussions in Vehicles.
A defense official has confirmed that the MoD is currently examining the possible security risks associated with Chinese vehicles, and staff have been instructed to refrain from discussing secret information in any cars.
Safety Guidance for MoD Staff
During a recent interview on a radio station, Luke Pollard addressed reports that MoD staff have been told not to talk about classified material while riding in China-made cars.
The minister stated that the MoD is “investigating” cars from China within its fleets, but noted that security is a issue in every modern cars.
We have a fleet of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and those vehicles represent a tiny fraction.
But regardless of if you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a car from another country, our instruction to our staff is not to plug Ministry of Defence technology into their vehicle, to avoid having discussions at a classified classification in any vehicle, because of the increasing threats of surveillance that exist in all automobile, to only have those secret conversations in protected areas. This is a prudent and sensible thing for anyone worried about safety.
After it was suggested that it would be wise for the ministry to cease using every cars from China, Pollard replied: That is exactly what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Broader Defence Context
This revelation comes as reports from Scandinavian countries have alerted the United Kingdom to the existence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made buses, which could enable the Chinese government to disable public transport and cause chaos to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russian spy ship was reportedly shining lasers at Royal Air Force aircrew, labeled a “extremely risky” act by government representatives.
This wider defence situation underscores the importance of robust protocols and vigilance in every areas of official activities, including vehicle use to communication practices.
