A defense official has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is actively investigating the potential threats posed by Chinese cars, while staff have been advised to avoid discussing secret matters in any vehicles.
Safety Advice for Defence Personnel
In a recently aired appearance on LBC, Luke Pollard addressed claims that MoD officials have been instructed not to discuss classified material while riding in China-made cars.
The minister explained that the ministry is “investigating” cars from China within its vehicle pools, however emphasised that safety is a issue in all modern cars.
Our department has a collection of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles account for a very small number.
However regardless of if you’re driving a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our people is to avoid connecting MoD technology into their vehicle, not to have conversations at a secret level in any car, because of the increasing risks of surveillance that exist in all automobile, to only have those secret talks in secure locations. That’s a prudent and reasonable thing for everyone worried about safety.
When it was put to him that it would be wise for the MoD to cease using all Chinese vehicles, the minister replied: ‘That’s exactly what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Broader Defence 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 buses, which could enable China to disable buses and bring disruption to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russia intelligence vessel has been shining laser beams at Royal Air Force aircrew, labeled a “extremely risky” action by defence officials.
The broader security environment highlights the significance of strong measures and caution in every aspects of official operations, including transport use to discussions habits.
