A defence minister has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is actively examining the potential security risks associated with Chinese-made vehicles, and personnel have been advised to avoid discussing secret matters in all cars.
Safety Advice for Defence Personnel
In a recently aired interview on LBC, Luke Pollard commented on claims that Ministry of Defence staff have been instructed not to talk about classified information while travelling in China-made cars.
The minister said that the MoD is “investigating” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, however stressed that safety is a concern in every contemporary cars.
Our department has a fleet of tens of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles account for a very small number.
However regardless of if you’re driving a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our staff is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence devices into their car, to avoid having discussions at a secret level in any vehicle, because of the growing threats of surveillance that are present in every single vehicle, to restrict those confidential talks in secure locations. That’s a wise and sensible thing for everyone concerned about safety.
When it was suggested that it would be prudent for the MoD to stop using every Chinese vehicles, Pollard responded: That is exactly what we are looking into at the moment.”
Broader Defence Context
This revelation comes as reports from Scandinavian countries have warned the UK to the existence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese buses, which could allow China to disable buses and bring disruption to public transit.
Additionally, a Russian spy ship was reportedly directing laser beams at Royal Air Force aircrew, labeled a “extremely risky” action by government representatives.
This broader defence situation highlights the importance of robust protocols and caution in all aspects of official activities, from vehicle usage to communication practices.
