🔗 Share this article

An defence official has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is actively examining the potential threats posed by Chinese-made cars, while staff have been instructed to avoid talking about secret information in all cars.

Security Advice for MoD Staff

During a recent interview on LBC, Luke Pollard commented on claims that Ministry of Defence staff have been told not to talk about secret material while travelling in China-made vehicles.

The minister stated that the MoD is “investigating” cars from China within its fleets, but noted that safety is a concern in every modern vehicles.

We have a collection of tens of thousands of cars in the MoD and Chinese ones represent a tiny fraction.

However whether you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a car from another country, what we’ve asked our staff is to avoid connecting MoD technology into their vehicle, to avoid having conversations at a secret level in any car, due to the increasing risks of surveillance that exist in all vehicle, to restrict those confidential conversations in protected areas. That’s a wise and sensible thing for anyone concerned about safety.

After it was suggested that it would be wise for the ministry to cease using all cars from China, the minister responded: That is exactly what we are looking into at the present time.”

Wider Security Background

The revelation follows reports from Norway and Denmark have warned the United Kingdom to the existence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese electric buses, which could allow the Chinese government to switch off buses and bring chaos to transport systems.

Furthermore, a Russian intelligence vessel was reportedly directing lasers at Royal Air Force pilots, described as a “highly dangerous” act by government representatives.

This wider defence environment underscores the significance of robust protocols and vigilance in every aspects of government operations, including transport usage to discussions practices.