A defence official has stated that the Ministry of Defence is actively investigating the possible security risks posed by Chinese cars, while personnel have been told to refrain from talking about classified matters in all cars.
Safety Advice for Defence Staff
During a recently aired appearance on LBC, Luke Pollard commented on claims that Ministry of Defence staff have been told not to discuss classified information while riding in Chinese vehicles.
He said that the MoD is “looking into” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, however stressed that security is a issue in every contemporary cars.
We have a collection of tens of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles account for a very small number.
However regardless of if you’re driving a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our staff is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence devices into their vehicle, to avoid having discussions at a classified level in any kind of car, due to the growing risks of surveillance that are present in all automobile, to only have those confidential conversations in protected areas. This is a wise and sensible thing for anyone concerned about safety.
After it was suggested that it would be prudent for the ministry to cease using every Chinese vehicles, Pollard responded: That is exactly what we are looking into at the present time.”
Wider Defence Context
This announcement comes as reports from Norway and Denmark have warned the UK to the existence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese-made electric buses, which could allow China to switch off buses and bring chaos to public transit.
Additionally, a Russian intelligence vessel has been shining laser beams at Royal Air Force pilots, labeled a “highly dangerous” act by defence officials.
This wider defence environment highlights the importance of robust measures and vigilance in every areas of government operations, from vehicle use to communication practices.
