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An defense official has revealed that the MoD is currently examining the possible security risks associated with Chinese cars, and staff have been told to refrain from talking about secret information in all vehicles.

Safety Guidance for Defence Personnel

In a recently aired appearance on LBC, Luke Pollard commented on reports that Ministry of Defence officials have been told not to talk about classified material while travelling in China-made vehicles.

He said that the ministry is “investigating” cars from China within its vehicle pools, but stressed that safety is a concern in every modern cars.

Our department has a collection of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and Chinese ones account for a tiny fraction.

However regardless of if you’re driving a vehicle from China or a car from another country, our instruction to our people is to avoid connecting MoD devices into their car, to avoid having discussions at a classified classification in any car, because of the growing threats of eavesdropping that are present in all vehicle, to restrict those secret talks in secure locations. That’s a prudent and reasonable thing for anyone worried about safety.

After it was suggested that it would be wise for the MoD to stop using all cars from China, the minister replied: That is precisely what we are looking into at the moment.”

Broader Security Background

The announcement comes as reports from Scandinavian countries have alerted the United Kingdom to the presence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese-made electric buses, which could allow the Chinese government to switch off public transport and cause chaos to transport systems.

Furthermore, a Russian intelligence vessel was reportedly shining laser beams at Royal Air Force pilots, labeled a “extremely risky” act by government representatives.

The broader security situation underscores the significance of strong measures and vigilance in all aspects of government activities, including vehicle usage to discussions practices.