An defence minister has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is currently examining the potential threats associated with Chinese cars, and personnel have been told to refrain from talking about secret matters in any vehicles.
Safety Advice for MoD Staff
During a recently aired appearance on LBC, Luke Pollard addressed claims that MoD officials have been told not to discuss classified information while riding in Chinese vehicles.
The minister stated that the MoD is “examining” cars from China within its vehicle pools, however stressed that safety is a concern in all contemporary cars.
We have a collection of tens of thousands of cars in the MoD and Chinese ones account for a tiny fraction.
However regardless of if you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our people is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence technology into their car, to avoid having discussions at a classified classification in any vehicle, due to the increasing threats of eavesdropping that exist in every single vehicle, to restrict those confidential conversations in secure locations. This is a wise and sensible thing for everyone concerned about security.
When it was suggested that it would be wise for the MoD to cease using all cars from China, Pollard responded: That is exactly what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Wider Defence Background
This revelation comes as reports from Norway and Denmark have warned the United Kingdom to the existence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made buses, which could enable the Chinese government to switch off buses and cause chaos to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russia intelligence vessel has been shining laser beams at RAF aircrew, described as a “highly dangerous” action by government representatives.
This wider security situation highlights the importance of robust measures and vigilance in all areas of official activities, including transport use to discussions practices.
