A defence official has confirmed that the MoD is actively investigating the potential threats posed by Chinese vehicles, and staff have been told to avoid talking about classified matters in any vehicles.
Security Guidance for MoD Staff
During a recently aired interview on LBC, a defence minister addressed claims that Ministry of Defence staff have been instructed not to discuss secret material while travelling in China-made cars.
He explained that the MoD is “looking into” cars from China within its vehicle pools, however noted that security is a issue in all modern vehicles.
We have a collection of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles represent a tiny fraction.
But regardless of if you’re driving a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our staff is to avoid connecting MoD devices into their vehicle, to avoid having discussions at a secret level in any car, due to the growing threats of surveillance that are present in all automobile, to restrict those confidential talks in protected areas. That’s a prudent and reasonable thing for everyone concerned about security.
After it was suggested that it would be prudent for the ministry to stop using every cars from China, Pollard responded: ‘That’s precisely what we are looking into at the moment.”
Broader Defence Context
This revelation follows claims from Norway and Denmark have warned the UK to the presence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese-made electric buses, which could enable the Chinese government to switch off public transport and cause chaos to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russian spy ship has been directing laser beams at Royal Air Force pilots, described as a “extremely risky” action by government representatives.
This wider defence environment highlights the importance of robust protocols and vigilance in all areas of official operations, including vehicle usage to discussions habits.
