Minister Confirms Ministry of Defence Looking at Potential Threat from Vehicles from China, as Staff Advised to Avoid Confidential Discussions in Cars.
An defence minister has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is actively examining the possible security risks associated with Chinese vehicles, and personnel have been told to refrain from discussing secret matters in any cars.
Security Guidance for Defence Staff
During a recent interview on a radio station, Luke Pollard commented on claims that Ministry of Defence staff have been instructed not to discuss classified material while travelling in China-made vehicles.
The minister explained that the ministry is “investigating” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, but stressed that security is a concern in every contemporary vehicles.
We have a collection of tens of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles represent a tiny fraction.
But regardless of if you’re driving a Chinese car or a car from another country, our instruction to our people is not to plug Ministry of Defence devices into their car, not to have conversations at a secret classification in any kind of car, due to the increasing risks of surveillance that exist in every single vehicle, to only have those confidential talks in protected areas. This is a wise and reasonable thing for everyone concerned about security.
After it was suggested that it would be prudent for the ministry to stop using all cars from China, the minister responded: ‘That’s exactly what we are looking into at the present time.”
Broader Defence Context
The announcement follows claims from Norway and Denmark have alerted the UK to the presence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese-made electric buses, which could allow China to disable buses and cause disruption to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russia intelligence vessel was reportedly shining laser beams at RAF pilots, described as a “highly dangerous” act by government representatives.
This broader security environment highlights the importance of strong measures and caution in every areas of official activities, including transport use to communication habits.