A defense minister has revealed that the MoD is currently looking into the potential threats posed by Chinese-made vehicles, while staff have been instructed to avoid discussing classified information in all vehicles.
Safety Guidance for Defence Staff
In a recent interview on LBC, Luke Pollard commented on claims that Ministry of Defence staff have been told not to discuss secret material while travelling in Chinese vehicles.
He said that the ministry is “investigating” cars from China within its fleets, however emphasised that safety is a concern in every modern cars.
Our department has a collection of tens of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and Chinese ones account for a tiny fraction.
But whether you’re driving a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our staff is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence devices into their vehicle, not to have conversations at a secret level in any kind of car, due to the increasing risks of eavesdropping that exist in all automobile, to restrict those secret conversations in protected areas. That’s a prudent and reasonable thing for everyone concerned about safety.
When it was put to him that it would be wise for the ministry to cease using every cars from China, Pollard responded: That is precisely what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Broader Defence Context
The revelation comes as reports from Norway and Denmark have alerted the United Kingdom to the existence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made buses, which could enable China to disable public transport and bring chaos to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russian spy ship was reportedly directing lasers at Royal Air Force pilots, labeled a “highly dangerous” act by government representatives.
The wider defence environment underscores the importance of robust measures and caution in every aspects of government activities, from transport use to communication practices.
