An defence official has revealed that the MoD is actively examining the potential threats posed by Chinese cars, while staff have been told to refrain from discussing secret matters in any cars.
Security Guidance for Defence Staff
In a recent appearance on LBC, Luke Pollard addressed reports that Ministry of Defence staff have been told not to discuss secret material while riding in China-made vehicles.
He stated that the ministry is “investigating” cars from China within its vehicle pools, but emphasised that safety is a concern in every contemporary vehicles.
Our department has a collection of tens of thousands of cars in the MoD and those vehicles account for a very small number.
However regardless of if you’re driving a Chinese car or a car from another country, our instruction to our people is not to plug MoD technology into their car, to avoid having conversations at a secret classification in any kind of vehicle, because of the growing risks of eavesdropping that are present in all automobile, to restrict those confidential talks in protected areas. This is 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 Chinese vehicles, the minister responded: That is precisely what we are looking into at the present time.”
Wider Defence Context
This revelation comes as reports from Scandinavian countries have warned the United Kingdom to the presence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese electric buses, which could allow China to switch off public transport and bring disruption to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russian spy ship has been shining laser beams at RAF aircrew, described as a “highly dangerous” action by government representatives.
The broader defence situation underscores the significance of strong measures and vigilance in every areas of official activities, including transport usage to discussions practices.
