A defense official has confirmed that the MoD is currently examining the potential threats posed by Chinese cars, while staff have been told to avoid discussing secret information in any cars.
Safety Advice for Defence Personnel
In a recently aired appearance on a radio station, Luke Pollard commented on claims that Ministry of Defence officials have been instructed not to talk about classified information while travelling in Chinese cars.
He said that the MoD is “investigating” cars from China within its fleets, however stressed that safety is a issue in all modern vehicles.
Our department has a fleet of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles account for a tiny fraction.
But whether you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a car from another country, our instruction to our staff is not to plug MoD technology into their car, to avoid having discussions at a classified classification in any kind of car, because of the increasing risks of surveillance that are present in all automobile, to restrict those secret conversations in secure locations. That’s a wise and sensible thing for everyone worried about security.
When it was suggested that it would be wise for the ministry to stop using all cars from China, the minister replied: That is precisely what we are looking into at the present time.”
Broader Defence Background
The revelation follows claims from Scandinavian countries have alerted the UK to the existence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese electric buses, which could allow China to switch off public transport and bring chaos to public transit.
Additionally, a Russian spy ship has been shining laser beams at RAF pilots, labeled a “extremely risky” action by defence officials.
The broader defence environment highlights the importance of robust protocols and caution in every areas of official activities, from transport usage to discussions habits.
