A defence minister has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is currently investigating the possible security risks posed by Chinese-made vehicles, while personnel have been advised to avoid discussing secret matters in any cars.
Safety Guidance for Defence Staff
In a recently aired interview on LBC, a defence minister commented on claims that Ministry of Defence staff have been told not to talk about secret information while riding in Chinese vehicles.
The minister stated that the MoD is “looking into” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, however emphasised that safety is a concern in every contemporary vehicles.
We have a fleet of tens of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles represent a tiny fraction.
But regardless of if you’re driving a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our staff is not to plug MoD technology into their car, to avoid having discussions at a classified classification in any vehicle, due to the growing risks of surveillance that are present in every single automobile, to restrict those confidential talks in protected areas. That’s a wise and sensible thing for everyone worried about security.
When it was put to him that it would be prudent for the ministry to cease using all cars from China, Pollard responded: ‘That’s precisely what we are looking into at the present time.”
Broader Defence Context
This revelation follows reports from Scandinavian countries have alerted the UK to the presence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese buses, which could enable China to disable buses and bring disruption to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russian spy ship was reportedly shining laser beams at Royal Air Force aircrew, described as a “highly dangerous” action by defence officials.
This wider defence environment underscores the importance of strong protocols and caution in every areas of official operations, including transport use to discussions habits.
