A defence minister has confirmed that the MoD is currently examining the possible security risks associated with Chinese cars, while personnel have been instructed to avoid talking about classified information in any vehicles.
Security Advice for MoD Personnel
During a recent interview on LBC, Luke Pollard commented on claims that MoD officials have been instructed not to discuss secret information while travelling in Chinese cars.
The minister said that the ministry is “examining” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, but noted that security is a issue in every modern cars.
Our department has a collection of tens of thousands of cars in the MoD and those vehicles account for a very small number.
But regardless of if you’re driving a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our staff is not to plug Ministry of Defence technology into their car, not to have discussions at a secret level in any kind of car, because of the increasing risks of eavesdropping that exist in every single vehicle, to only have those confidential conversations in secure locations. That’s a prudent and reasonable thing for everyone worried about safety.
After it was suggested that it would be wise for the ministry to stop using every cars from China, the minister responded: That is exactly what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Broader Defence Background
The announcement follows claims from Norway and Denmark have alerted the UK to the presence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese electric buses, which could enable China to disable buses and bring disruption to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russian spy ship has been directing lasers at Royal Air Force pilots, described as a “extremely risky” act by defence officials.
This wider security situation highlights the significance of robust measures and vigilance in every aspects of official activities, including transport usage to discussions practices.
