A defense official has confirmed that the MoD is actively examining the potential security risks associated with Chinese-made vehicles, and personnel have been told to avoid discussing classified information in any vehicles.
Safety Guidance for Defence Personnel
In a recent interview on LBC, Luke Pollard commented on claims that Ministry of Defence staff have been instructed not to discuss classified information while travelling in China-made vehicles.
He stated that the ministry is “examining” cars from China within its vehicle pools, but stressed that safety is a issue in every contemporary vehicles.
Our department has a fleet of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and those vehicles represent a tiny fraction.
However whether you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a car from another country, what we’ve asked our staff is not to plug MoD technology into their vehicle, not to have conversations at a classified level in any kind of vehicle, due to the growing threats of eavesdropping that exist in all vehicle, to restrict those secret talks in protected areas. That’s a wise and sensible thing for anyone worried about security.
When it was put to him that it would be prudent for the MoD to cease using every cars from China, the minister responded: That is precisely what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Wider Defence Background
The revelation follows reports from Norway and Denmark have alerted the United Kingdom to the presence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese-made buses, which could enable China to switch off buses and cause disruption to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russia spy ship was reportedly directing laser beams at RAF aircrew, described as a “extremely risky” act by defence officials.
This wider security situation highlights the significance of strong measures and caution in every aspects of government activities, including transport use to communication habits.
