An defence minister has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is actively examining the possible threats posed by Chinese-made cars, while personnel have been instructed to refrain from talking about secret matters in any cars.
Security Advice for Defence Staff
In a recently aired interview on LBC, Luke Pollard commented on claims that Ministry of Defence staff have been instructed not to discuss secret material while travelling in China-made vehicles.
He said that the ministry is “looking into” cars from China within its fleets, but stressed that safety is a issue in every modern vehicles.
We have a collection of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles represent a very small number.
However regardless of if you’re driving a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our staff is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence technology into their car, to avoid having conversations at a secret level in any car, because of the increasing risks of surveillance that exist in all vehicle, to restrict those secret talks in secure locations. This is a wise and sensible thing for anyone concerned about safety.
When it was suggested that it would be wise for the MoD to cease using every Chinese vehicles, Pollard responded: ‘That’s exactly what we are looking into at the present time.”
Broader Security Background
This revelation comes as claims from Norway and Denmark have warned the United Kingdom to the presence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made electric buses, which could enable the Chinese government to switch off public transport and bring chaos to public transit.
Additionally, a Russian intelligence vessel was reportedly shining lasers at Royal Air Force aircrew, labeled a “highly dangerous” act by government representatives.
The wider security environment highlights the importance of robust measures and vigilance in every aspects of official operations, from vehicle usage to discussions practices.
