A defense minister has confirmed that the MoD is actively examining the possible security risks associated with Chinese vehicles, and personnel have been instructed to refrain from talking about classified information in any cars.
Safety Guidance for MoD Staff
In a recent interview on LBC, Luke Pollard addressed reports that Ministry of Defence staff have been told not to talk about secret information while riding in China-made vehicles.
He said that the MoD is “investigating” cars from China within its vehicle pools, but emphasised that security is a issue in all modern vehicles.
We have a collection of tens of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones account for a very small number.
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, not to have conversations at a secret level in any kind of vehicle, because of the growing threats of surveillance that are present in every single vehicle, to restrict those confidential conversations in protected areas. This is a prudent and sensible thing for anyone worried about security.
When it was put to him that it would be wise for the MoD to stop using every cars from China, the minister responded: ‘That’s precisely what we are looking into at the moment.”
Wider Defence Background
This revelation comes as claims from Scandinavian countries have warned the UK to the existence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made buses, which could enable the Chinese government to disable public transport and cause disruption to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russian intelligence vessel has been shining laser beams at RAF aircrew, labeled a “extremely risky” action by government representatives.
The broader security situation underscores the significance of robust protocols and vigilance in every areas of official activities, including transport usage to discussions practices.
