A defence minister has stated that the Ministry of Defence is actively examining the possible threats posed by Chinese-made vehicles, and personnel have been instructed to avoid talking about secret information in any vehicles.
Security Guidance for MoD Personnel
In a recently aired appearance on LBC, Luke Pollard commented on reports that MoD officials have been told not to talk about secret information while travelling in China-made cars.
He stated that the ministry is “investigating” cars from China within its vehicle pools, however stressed that safety is a issue in all contemporary cars.
Our department has a fleet of tens of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and those vehicles represent a tiny fraction.
However regardless of if you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a car from another country, what we’ve asked our people is not to plug MoD devices into their car, to avoid having discussions at a classified classification in any vehicle, because of the growing risks of eavesdropping that exist in all vehicle, to only have those confidential talks in secure locations. That’s a wise and sensible thing for everyone worried about safety.
When it was suggested that it would be wise for the ministry to cease using all cars from China, the minister replied: ‘That’s exactly what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Broader Defence Context
The revelation follows reports from Norway and Denmark have alerted 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 disruption to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russia intelligence vessel has been shining lasers at Royal Air Force aircrew, described as a “highly dangerous” action by government representatives.
The wider defence environment underscores the importance of robust protocols and caution in every areas of government operations, including vehicle use to discussions habits.
