A defence official has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is actively looking into the possible security risks posed by Chinese-made cars, and staff have been instructed to refrain from discussing secret information in all vehicles.
Safety Guidance for MoD Staff
During a recently aired appearance on LBC, Luke Pollard addressed reports that Ministry of Defence staff have been told not to talk about secret material while riding in China-made cars.
He stated that the ministry is “examining” cars from China within its fleets, but noted that safety is a issue in every modern vehicles.
We have a collection of tens of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles represent a very small number.
But whether you’re driving a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our staff is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence technology into their vehicle, to avoid having conversations at a secret classification in any kind of car, due to the increasing risks of eavesdropping that exist in every single vehicle, to restrict those secret talks in protected areas. That’s a wise and reasonable thing for anyone concerned about security.
When it was suggested that it would be wise for the MoD to cease using every cars from China, Pollard responded: ‘That’s precisely what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Broader Defence Background
The announcement follows claims from Norway and Denmark have warned the United Kingdom to the existence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made electric buses, which could allow the Chinese government to switch off buses and cause chaos to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russian intelligence vessel has been directing laser beams at RAF aircrew, described as a “extremely risky” action by defence officials.
The wider security situation underscores the significance of strong protocols and vigilance in every aspects of government activities, including transport usage to discussions habits.
